6 year count with Opt in the beginning

[azalte]

I believe I have a unique problem towards how to calculate 6 year limit on H1B. I started working on opt in company A on 9th June2010 and my h1B petition got approved on 11 Nov 2010 I however stamped my visa only in February 2011 (entered USA after vacation), so I guess my question is will my 6 year limit start on 11 th November or 1st February?

[pontevecchio]

The 6 years refer to actual time spent in this country in H1 status.

[JoeF]

That depends.

Was the H1 petition approved as COS, i.e., did it have an I-94 at the bottom? If yes, you were in H1 status from the date of that I-94 on, and that's the date the H1 clock started.