H1B interruption

[Tracian]

Hi guys,

I've worked earlier thuis year on a contract position in USA under H1B visa for about 8 months. Then due to personal reasons I terminated my contract and left the US to head home. It's been 5 months since then. Now, after everything is ok back home, I decided to strat looking for another job (contract).
My question is: can I use the existing H1B visa - valid until 2013, and will this make the admission process simplier for me and my prospective employer?
What other options do I have?

I hope there is someone walked already this path.

Regards!

[kabkaba]

Your new employer can file a cap-exempt petition for you at any time. They will need a copy of the previous approval notice.
After their petition is approved, you can use the same existing Visa in your passport to travel to US and work for this employer.
In general, typical IT consulting companies face extra scrutiny in their petitions these days. It is required to prove that they have a project waiting for you and that is difficult without you already in the US. But many people still manage to get their petitions approved still.
Remember that you should not pay for your H1B petition. Also, once you travel to US in H1 status, you must begin working and get paid from day one. There is no benching in H1B.