JoeF

You can NOT travel with the old H1. It would be immigration fraud, because the job no longer exists. Stay away from an employer who asks you to travel with that old H1. They are frauds. If an employer wants you they can file a new H1 with Premium Processing, which takes 15 days. Oh, and your old employer also seems to be shady. Forcing you to resign means that he didn't have to pay for your flight back to your country. If you had been laid off the employer would have to pay for the flight.

If you are working as contractor you are your own employer, i.e., you are freelancing.

When was the H1 filed? The clock only resets if the H1 is filed after the person has been abroad for at least a year. When you entered with the H1 is completely irrelevant. The date of filing is the only thing that matters.

Well, the time in CPT means that you only had 6 months for the OPT. As per 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10), a person has only 1 year of Practical Training per educational level. That means CPT and OPT combined. STEM OPT is separate. But you were working on your initial OPT for too long.

When was the H1 filed? That's the important thing. If it was filed more than one year after you left the US then the clock did reset. If it is was filed before the 1-year mark abroad the clock k did not reset.

Only the time actually spent in the US counts. If that is less than 6 years you can get an extension for the remainder.

You need a client letter

You can not stay past the 7 years of the L1A. It can not be extended. You have to leave the country.

No.

There is a reason why they deny COS. They believe you are not in valid status. That usually means doing something on F1 that isn't allowed, like doing CPT after you already did OPT on the same educational level. They will know the reason for the COS denial. They may ask it, so a lie would be really bad.

State the truth.

They did the same for me. I changed my travel plans. You can try a walk-in, but they may reject you if they are too busy.

You can not be married to two people at the same time. Unless you have a proper divorce from your first wife you won't be able to get a visa for your second wife.

Sorry, that's wrong. The time on L1 and H1 is combined. That's been the law for at least 10 years. 8 CFR 214.2(h)

A forum is not the right place to discuss complicated issues, in particular with lots of specific stuff. Consult a lawyer one-on-one.