New H1B- When to apply?

[spjay20]

Hi,

 

I was in US  from August 2009 to August 2014 on L1B and currently in my home country. My company is planning to file H1B in 2015.  My concern here is, If I get my H1B next year, will it be 6 years or 1 year ? 

 

I checked with 2 employer in US and as per them, it will be 6 years as I will be entering US in the month of october 2015. 

 

I'm under impression that I have to file H1B after 1 year from the day I left US. 

 

Please clarify. 

 

Thanks,

Jay S

 

[jairichi]

If filed in August 2015 you are eligible for 6 years. If filed in April 2015 you are eligible for 6 year - time spent in US on L1. Date of filing matters and not date of entry.

[JoeF]

The employers you asked obviously are clueless.

To get the 6 years, you have to be outside the US for at least a year before an H1 is FILED.

For you, that means to get the 6 years, the H1 can only be FILED in August 2015. If the quota is full by then, it can be filed in April 2016.

This has been confirmed here by Murthy lawyers lots of times. I am sure they also have that in their FAQs on their website.

[spjay20]

Thank you all for your reply