Could you please advise what should I do?

[martin.schmittinger]

Dear All,

I am an Indian passport holder, living in Germany for the past few years.

In 2006, I applied for a job in the US, which worked out and have a US H1B visa issued in March 2006 and valid till March 2008.
I did not, however, join the company because I joined another American company in Germany.

Last year, I visited the US for the first time and loved it a lot there, so I'm considering working in the US for a few years.
So, the question is whether I should apply for a H1B visa or whether I could renew my current visa through a different employer?

I keep hearing of quotas and rejections, which greatly disturbs me. So, I am seeking your expertise in guiding me through this maze.

As my visa was approved in 2006, do I still fall into this quota and should I submit a fresh application?
Or, would it suffice if I renew my H1B visa and seek sponsorship through a different employer?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Best Regards,
Martin

[raghvi]

Dear All,

I am an Indian passport holder, living in Germany for the past few years.

In 2006, I applied for a job in the US, which worked out and have a US H1B visa issued in March 2006 and valid till March 2008.
I did not, however, join the company because I joined another American company in Germany.

Last year, I visited the US for the first time and loved it a lot there, so I'm considering working in the US for a few years.
So, the question is whether I should apply for a H1B visa or whether I could renew my current visa through a different employer?

I keep hearing of quotas and rejections, which greatly disturbs me. So, I am seeking your expertise in guiding me through this maze.

As my visa was approved in 2006, do I still fall into this quota and should I submit a fresh application?
Or, would it suffice if I renew my H1B visa and seek sponsorship through a different employer?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Best Regards,
Martin

Generally if one had a valid visa or was in US in H1 status in last 6 years it would be possible to re use the H1. So even if we consider Mar 2008 , you pretty much will have only 3 Months to find an employer and initiate a H1 petition. Once the petition is approved, you would have to attend a visa interview at a US consulate, only after the consulate stamps the H1, you would be able to use the H1 to enter and work on that H1. If filing a petition is not possible by Mar 2014, then in order to move to H1 your employer would have to file petition on April 1st , in 2013 there were so many applications on first day itself that USCIS had to do a lottery to accept only as much applications as required for the 65000 quota. Once petition is selected and approved, and subsequently H1 is stamped, then you can use that H1 from 01-Oct-2014 only.

This is my opinion not legal advice.