H1B 6 years validity

[abcd123pos]

Hi All,

I have a question regarding cap exemption and validity for H1 visa. I am currently on H4.  I had H1B in the past approved during Oct/Nov 2012, Worked in H1B till Sept 2014 before converting to H4 for family break. So I have about 4 years of the H1 left. 

My question is that is it possible for me to use this H1 again and transfer to a company without going through the lottery, 

1. what is the deadline before which I need to trigger this H1 again? 
2. Till when is my H1 valid to be transferred without going through lottery?
3.  What happens to my H1 if I cannot get a company to do the H1 transfer before the deadline ? 

[pontevecchio]

1. No deadline .

2. No Deadline

3. see 1 and 2.

[abcd123pos]

Thanks @pontevecchio

I read the following in quora and other websites. 

"Cap-exempt petitions to reclaim unused time are only valid within 6 years of being “counted against the cap,” which USCIS seems to interpret to mean within 6 years of last being in the US in H1b status. If you have had H1b status in the past and have unused time you would like to try to reclaim, it is in your interest to make every effort to get a cap-exempt petition filed on your behalf within 6 years of the day you left your prior H1b job."

"If you did not exhaust 6 years on your H1 (when you returned back) and if the initial H1B was approved less than 6 years back then you can get it "transferred or ported" to another employer or get a cap exempt application done with same employer, and travel to US after getting a NEW VISA stamped at a US Consulate in your home country."

If your H1B was approved more than 6 years ago - then you cannot reuse the previous H1B approval. Your employer must apply for a fresh H1B application which will be counted against cap quota for that year.

So because I was on H1 last on September 2014, will my H1 not expire by Sep 2020 if I dont do the transfer before that?

So if after 2020 September I wanted to get back to H1 would it not be like filing a completely new H1 which is subject to lottery.