H1B renewal or L1

[johnraj]

Hi,

I got H1B visa on Oct 2007 and expired in Sept 2010 through Sponsor A. During this time, due to various reasons, my project was canceled and I did not get an opportunity to enter US. But previously, I had B1 visa so I went to US couple of times on my Business visa.

My present company (Sponsor B) is trying to apply H1B/L1. There are some critical issues and my presence in US is must for some years.

1. Since I had H1B (expired 10 months before), can I renew my H1B ?

or

2. I have to apply only fresh H1B/L1 ?

please advice.

thanks
John

[kabkaba]

There is no such thing as renewal. Your company can file a cap-subject or a cap-exempt petition for you and you will get 6 years of H1 since you have not used any H1 time before. The only difference will be that with cap-exempt they can request immediate start date while with cap-subject you will have to wait until Oct 1.
For L1 none of the above matters. They can file anytime.
If your company hires experiences lawyers they will be aware of proper procedures. Just let them know that you have had an H1 petition filed for you previously.