Microsoft for Startups Milestone 2 stuck 6+ weeks, documents submitted, no review (Application ID 3633168)

Question

Microsoft for Startups Milestone 2 stuck 6+ weeks, documents submitted, no review (Application ID 3633168)

lewis dyer 0

Hello Microsoft for Startups / Azure Startups team,

I'm trying to reach Milestone 2 ($5,000 credit upgrade). I already have Milestone 1. The blocker is a Cognitive Services Gating review for Azure OpenAI access that has been open for six weeks.

Timeline:

June 29, 2026: Cognitive Services Gating Support (csgate@microsoft.com) confirmed my application (ID 3633168) passed initial gating and requested domain and business verification documents.
July 2, 2026: I submitted both required documents, a GoDaddy domain invoice and my Spanish Modelo 037 (sole trader business registration, since I operate as an autonomo with no incorporation document under Spanish law).
July 11 and August 8, 2026: Followed up with no response from the gating team.
July 15, 2026: Opened Azure Subscription Support case SR#2607150050001759, since I couldn't reach the gating team directly.
July 15 to August 12: The case was passed between billing, technical, and subscription support agents, each saying it wasn't their team's issue. It was closed once for "unavailability" despite me replying to every message, then reopened.
August 12, 2026: A support agent confirmed she would route the case internally to the Startups/Cognitive Services Gating team. No confirmation of receipt or timeline since.

What I need help with: The documents required to verify a Spanish sole trader business have already been submitted and match what the original gating email requested. Could a moderator escalate this to the Microsoft for Startups / Cognitive Services Gating team for manual review, or point me to someone who can review the submitted documents directly?

Application ID: 3633168 Support Request: 2607150050001759

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Answer 1

For Microsoft for Startups issues involving program benefits, verification, or credit progression, the supported path is to submit a Program Support request through the Azure portal.

Use this path:

Go to the Azure portal.
Navigate to the startup homepage.
In Overview, find Your Microsoft Team.
Select Get program support.
Choose the category that best matches the issue, such as verification, credits, or benefit access.

Relevant scope for Microsoft for Startups Program Support includes:

Azure credit activation issues
Credit expiration or usage questions
Business or domain verification
Program-related FAQs

Additional supported facts for the milestone itself:

The $5,000 milestone requires business verification.
Credit progression is automatic when the requirements are met.
Progress is evaluated based on recent activity and sustained usage patterns, and once requirements are met, the credit limit is automatically increased.

If the current issue is specifically an Azure service error or outage rather than program verification, that falls under Azure Product & Billing Support in the Azure portal, not Microsoft for Startups Program Support.