Is my petition H1 cap exempt?

[krisho007]

Hi,

I worked in US on a H1B in June-Dec 2006 for 6 months. The H1 stamp/I94 had a validity from April 2006 to March 2008.

Now I am applying for H1B. Is my current petition exempt from H1 cap?

Thanks
Krishna

[shervin143]

Yes. You will need a copy of the previous H1B approval notice to prove that you were already in H1B which was not utilized for the whole 6 year term (Or at least the receipt number). With that, the new employer can file a new petition under the same CAP.

However, since you have already stayed out of U.S for 1 whole year, if you file the H1B on a new CAP, you will get a fresh 6 year term rather than utilizing the remaining period in the old CAP. The CAP for 2011 is still open.

[krisho007]

great news

Thanks a lot for your answer. Definitely a great news to me.

I have one more question.

I will be submitting my petition in the next week (with old petition copy, hence not applying for the new cap).
When I get my H1(hopefully) will it be valid immediately or only from October 2011?

Thanks in advance
Krishna

[shervin143]

Yes, your employer can request an immediate start date. Read my previous reply one more time. If you use the old CAP you will get only the remaining time left on that H1B CAP. Let us assume you used 1 year in the old CAP. Now if you file the new petition using the same CAP, your will get only 5 more years. Since you have already spent 1 year outside U.S, if your employer can file a new petition under a new CAP (The CAP is still open. The employer can still request an immediate start date), you will get a fresh 6 year term.

Thanks a lot for your answer. Definitely a great news to me.

I have one more question.

I will be submitting my petition in the next week (with old petition copy, hence not applying for the new cap).
When I get my H1(hopefully) will it be valid immediately or only from October 2011?

Thanks in advance
Krishna

[krisho007]

Even though I submit my documents to the company, they have a huge internal process, and by the time they submit the petition to USICS, I fear that the quota will get over. So I do not prefer applying for a new cap.

In such a case (applying for old CAP, and the current CAP got filled), wanted to know if I can still get immediate start date.

Thanks for your patience with my complex quesitons.
Thanks
Krishna

[shervin143]

Yes. The employer can request an immediate start date.

Even though I submit my documents to the company, they have a huge internal process, and by the time they submit the petition to USICS, I fear that the quota will get over. So I do not prefer applying for a new cap.

In such a case (applying for old CAP, and the current CAP got filled), wanted to know if I can still get immediate start date.

Thanks for your patience with my complex quesitons.
Thanks
Krishna