Extending same H1B petition after staying outside US for 365+ days

[jeeyes]

I am currently on a L1B that maxed out (completed 5 years) this month, on August 25th 2009 and i will have to leave the US on August 31, 2009. If an employer wants to file a new H1B for me now, how much time will I have on the H1B? My understanding is that, due to the 6 year limit, I will only get 1 year (i.e. Oct1 2009 - August 25,2010).
If I ask my employer to request a start date of Jan 2010, depart the US now, stay outside the US for 365 days and time my return such that it's after 365 days (say in September 2010) but before my petition expiry (say December 2010), can i stay for 6 more years on the same H1? Meaning, can i apply for extension after i return and extend my stay on the same H1B beyond December 2010?
In other words, when i re-enter, will i get another 6 years from September 2010 (on the same H1)? Because technically, at that point, i would have already stayed outside the US for 365 days or more and my understanding is that the H1B clock would start over fresh.

If answer to the above is No, should i apply for a NEW H1B for the 6 year limit to start again? If yes, will the new H1 be counted against the 65k cap...Or Not really because i already had a previous petition in the preceeding 6 years that was counted once against the cap?

Any help from you will be greatly appreciated. My employer is asking me to pay money for processing the H1B and i wouldn't want to do that unless there is a possibility of extending the H1. I would rather have him apply next year if that's the case.

Other Questions I have

1. Can I ask my employer to file the H1B with a start date of Jan 2010 instead of Oct1, 2009. Meaning, can the employer request any start date after Oct 1, 2009? (Is there some flexibility around it or does the start date always have to be Oct 1, 2009?)

2. If he can request any start date, in my case, will the End Date on the petition be 1 year from the start date (say Jan 1, 2010 - December 31, 2010) Or can he request only until August 25, 2010 (because that is when I maxed out and completed 5 years on the L1B)?

 

[Concerned4us]

Please clarify whether you now have an approved H1B petition.

 

[kapsy30]

Question 10. I was in H1B status and changed to F-1 status. I am now ready to work in H1B status again. Do I get six more years in H1B status? Top
©MurthyDotCom
No. The six-year clock in H1B status is not reset unless one leaves the United States for at least one year. As a result, the time previously spent in H1B status will be counted against the six-year H1B limit.
©MurthyDotCom
Individuals who previously held H1B status in the last six years, and subsequently left the U.S. for at least a year, generally have the option of either using the time remaining in H1B status without being subject to the cap or applying for another six years of H1B employment subject to the cap.

Here is the link :http://www.murthy.com/h1bfaqs.htmlSO you need to be out physically for one year to get the clock time reset but you will be in the CAP.

 

[jeeyes]

hi concerned4us,

No. I don't have an approved H1B petition but an employer is ready to file one for me. That is why i am trying to find out if i should ask him to go ahead. If he requests for a start date of Jan 2010 or later, that will leave me enough time to get back after one year outside (say in Sep 2010). And the other thing i am trying to find out is if i get back in Sep 2010 and apply for extension, will i get another 6 years on the same H1 since i would have been outside 365 days or more?
But from the responses i got, i am not sure if that's possible.

Hi kapsy30
Q.No 10 in the link you provided says

"Individuals who previously held H1B status in the last six years, and subsequently left the U.S. for at least a year, generally have the option of either using the time remaining in H1B status without being subject to the cap or applying for another six years of H1B employment subject to the cap."

Does this mean that when I come back, i can only recapture the one year i was outside? And if I want to get 6 years fresh, i would have to apply for a new H1B, either in April 2011 or April 2012? does it have to be only in April or can I apply anytime of the year because I previously had a H1 (in the last 6 years) and so was counted against the cap once already .