H1B - Cap Exempt Petition

I came to US on L1 Visa in Oct 2010 and stayed on L1 for 3 years. Starting from Oct 2013, my visa status changed to H1. I stayed in US for 6 months and returned to my home country in Feb 2014.

Note: I got my L1 & H1 from the same company (Company A)

  1. If I go back to US after Feb 2015 with the same H1 and same company, I would like to know whether this 1 year I stayed outside US be considered as cooling period?

  2. If I leave company A and immediately file a fresh CAP EXEMPT petition through Company B, how many years would I get using the new H1 and how many years can I continue to stay in US?

  3. Is it possible to apply for fresh CAP EXEMPT petition after Feb 2015?