H1B Reinstatement + Reset

[Sid07]

Hi,

 

I have come across a lot of useful information in this forum but would like some help specific to my scenario mentioned below:

I got my 1st H1B Visa in October 2008 on which I worked till August 2009 (11 months) after which I returned to India and joined another company. I went on an L1B to the US with this company in May 2012 and returned back to India in July 2015 (3 years 2 months).

I understood from discussions on this and similar forums that it even though it has been more than 6 years since my H1B was issued, if I were to apply for a cap-exempt reinstatement the USCIS is to likely to approve the application.

I had a couple of questions:

·         Would my years in the US on an L1 reduce my remaining H1B  years, leaving me with a possible (6yrs - 11 mths - 3yrs 2mths) 1 year 11 months of work on the reinstated visa or would they not be counted?

·         If I were to apply for a reinstatement after August 2016, would the clock be reset on the cap-exempt H1B and if so how many years would I have remaining?

·         When should I apply for a new H1B visa in order to be able to work for the full 6 years with a clock reset? Is the time of reset counted till the time of application (April 2016) or when the H1B becomes valid (October 2016)?

 

Thanks,

Sid