[gmanis]

Hi Peter,

Thank you for doing this. I asked this question earlier but missed seeing your reply so I’ll state it again.

Can someone who has some unused time on H1B from long time ago, use it if they have a job offer from a US tech company and is presently outside the US?

It’s been 11 years since last present in US and the visa was approved a year earlier I believe.

Thank you.

[proberts]

The guidance isn't crystal clear on this but the concern is that this person would be subject to the lottery again since more than 6 years have elapsed since he or she was last in H-1B status. That being said, we've had H-1B petitions approved where the gap was greater than 6 years.

[gmanis]

Thank you for your reply.

I was definitely wishing to avoid the lottery but I guess it’s on case to case basis.