Thanks again for your reply. I've used about 3 out of the life time total 6 years for H-1B. I understand your point about employers preferring TN unless a future green card application makes H-1B preferable. For me getting a job will be a slow process, but if a prospective employer does indeed like me, I don't see the cost / effort involved in the H-1B application being a deterrent.
To clarify about the lottery - do I get to avoid going through the lottery for the 65k annual quota, since I was on H-1B before? I also have a masters from an Ivy, so can access the additional 20k quota - does that change things in any way?
Alternatively, looking at this from a completely different angle... at the time when I was on an H-1B, we also had an approved I-140 and were in the final stages (adjustment of status) when we withdrew our green card applications, and moved to Asia. We could have done things differently, this was 14-15 years back, it's a long story, lol. The question now is whether there is an opportunity to self-file / revive the green card application using the original I-140 approval?
Sorry I saw your post below but missed this one.
Your case is intricate because of the I-140/I-485 situation. It will be prudent to consult an immigration attorney. There are attorneys available for really cheap who my friends have experience with. I don't have any personal or commercial relationship or experience at all with them but I can DM their name, so if you decide to talk to them and pay a consulting fee for their time, please do you own research on them beforehand and decide for yourself if you like to consult with them or not.
Just on H1 (without considering I-140/485):
You can recapture the remainder of your prior H1 time . You very likely do NOT need to go through any lottery. An employer should be able to file a new H1 application (i-129) at any time of the year they want and once it's approved, you can take the approval notice to the border.
Until sometime back, you were allowed to recapture only if your last H1 status was within past 6 years but they changed it to allow recapture from any past H1 from any time period.
When it comes to I-140/485, some of the questions are:
1. Did the I-140 remain approved (and not withdrawn by the employer) for 180 days from the date of approval?
2. Was the I-485 withdrawn before or after 180 days from the date of filing the I-485?
I know the following for sure, if I-140 was filed and
did NOT become current (
NOT your scenario). Whether it continues to apply after your date became current I'm not able to tell reading the rule:
With an approved I-140 that stayed valid for 180 days you never have to worry about lottery again. For this, your I-140 should have been filed by any employer and been approved. It must not have been withdrawn by the employer for 6 months following the approval. After that time, it doesn't matter whether your employer withdrew your I-140 or you employer went out of business or any other circumstance (except fraud or an US CIS error in approval) - you get a freedom from H1-B lottery for any H1 filed by any employer. You can also keep extending your H1-B (6 year limit no longer applies) until you are eligible to file I-485.
Again, I don't know about the applicability of the above I-140 portability rule for those who filed I-485. This rule itself was created to help people who are in long backlogs and unable to file I-485, that's why I'm unsure what happens post-485.
Next comes I-485 portability:
If you filed 485 and withdrew after 180 days it seems like your priority date will be preserved as well as your I-140 and you should be able to file a 485 after finding a similar job to the I-140 (without a need for a new PERM or an I-140) but
I have no knowledge in this area at all.
If your 140 was revoked before Approval + 180 days, it seems like you will need a new PERM+I-140 but you will likely be able to keep the priority date.
Obviously, you've spent some time in the US but I'll say this - as far as job search is concerned US is unlike any place in the world. Just have a specific skillset and focus on it. you WILL get a job without fail. It doesn't matter whether your expertise in writing software or making bolts. Unlike any other place in the world, job search in the US is only about one thing: skillset that job requires. Things like nationality, local work experience and a college degree (college degree matters for visa but in general job market it doesn't), all these factors come last. Just have that mindset and be confident about what you know. Folks have 4-5 offers within a week of moving to the US all the time. Unlike Canada or Europe or almost anywhere else, every American worker is competing with the rest of the world. You will be considered equal as long as you can legally work or there's a way to easily get a legal work authorization like TN.
I still think you should start with a TN role. H1 with premium processing is extremely expensive and off putting for employers of all size. Some may be wary you might reject the offer after getting H1 approval costing them a lot of money. You should include that you are a Canadian citizen and eligible for TN both in your resume and any conversation with a recruiter. You can also mention you have an approved I-140. TN is not very expensive so they're not losing a lot of money when they want to convert you to H1. But obviously, decide for yourself based on your situation.
