If someone is transferring from SF to NYC they wouldn't have to advertise the position. I think the OP is referring to transferring people into the country on L1.
I was told that they were actually required to list them even if it’s someone transferring internally.
It was for a few specific ML research roles that I was interested in, of which there were very few in NYC and during the interview process I was told that they would go to internal candidates
Post-pandemic most single men in Silicon Valley have realized that the region is terrible for anything but settling down with a family.