How is your H1B still valid after you lost(?) your job and left the country? H1B is tied to an employer and a specific job, so I don't know how it's still active. Are you sure that your H1B hasn't expired yet? If you try to enter on an expired H1B, you might get banned from entering for 10 years (this happened to my friend 6 months ago) so make sure your immigration status is rock solid.
I have an unexpired H1B visa, but I left that job and the US in November, 2012. Now I've accepted another H1B job and my join date is in April, 2014. If you were counted against the h1b cap in the last 3 (or 6, I'm not sure) years, you will not be counted against the cap again, and you do not have to wait until october (when this year's H1B visas become valid) to enter the US and start your job.
H1B Transfers don't count against the H1B quota. If you still have time left on your H1B (i.e. approved I797 petiton) and have not violated the 'leave immediately if out of job' rule, it is possible to have a new employer file a petition for transfer of the I797 (H1B)
In fact, in such cases, you don't even need a new visa stamp for the transferred H1B. As long old H1B stamp has not expired, you can present this H1B along with the approved transfer petition and they will let you in.
This is just my understanding of the process and does not constitute legal advice. I am not an immigration attorney or any such. Just a technology guy -:)
Even if it were some sort of H1B transfer, I believe by leaving the US he might have abandoned his H1B. So I think the OP better get his immigration status verified by his new employer, because the last thing he wants to do is get a 10 year ban at the border.
There isn't a H1B transfer, but people often refer to it as a transfer, including immigration lawyers.
Basically, you must get a brand spanking new H1B to start a new job. However, if you have already recently gotten a H1B, then you can skip the quota, and get it approved pretty much immediately. This is commonly referred to as a "transfer" even though it is not technically a transfer.
Technically, if you lose your H1B job, you're out of the country right now. However, in practice there is some leeway, though lawyers differ on what they expect USCIS will let you away with (there seems to be some consensus on "10 days" though).
