Number of years left on my H1-B visa?

[mail2usa]

Dec 2009 - Came to USA on H1-B visa my first company
Aug 2011 - Returned to India and continued in the same company.
July 2012 - Switched companies and joined another company.
2013 - Filed for H1-B via an external consultancy.
It was approved and is valid till 9/27/2016.
I had provided the details of the first H1-B petition to the consultancy. In I-129, I can see that it was filed under CAP H1-B Bachelor's Degree
Aug 2014 - Transferred the H1-B from my first company to my second company, got the visa stamped and came to USA.

Question - I'm confused as to how many years are remaining on my visa.
Since the external consultancy is unable to confirm whether they have filed a fresh on or transferred my H1 from my first company, I'm not sure on the remaining visa years.
I was told by my second company that as I have spent more than a year in India after coming from USA and that I still have an approved petition not filed under the CAP, my H1 years have been reset.

[shervin143]

Did you give the consultancy company a copy of your previous H1B approval notice?
When did the consultancy company file your H1B, was that on April 1st 2013 with a H1B effective date of Oct 1st 2013?
What is the effective date of the H1B that got approved (the one that was filed by the consultancy company?)

[mail2usa]

Hey shervin143,
Yes - I gave the consultancy company a copy of my previous H1B approval notice.
It was submitted on April 2013 (Receipt Date: April 25, 2013).
The Notice date is Aug 2013.

[shervin143]

What is the effective date of the approval notice? I am not asking about the receipt date. Take the approval notice and find out the "Petition Valid Date". It will say the petition is valid from YYYY through YYY. What are those dates? If teh "from" date is in August instead of Oct 1st or later, then your H1B closk did not reset. The consultancy company used your previous CAP to file the H1B petition instead of going through a brand new CAP that is subjected to lottery.

Hey shervin143,
Yes - I gave the consultancy company a copy of my previous H1B approval notice.
It was submitted on April 2013 (Receipt Date: April 25, 2013).
The Notice date is Aug 2013.

[mail2usa]

Thanks for your reply shervin143.
It says the petition is valid from 10/1/2013 to 09/27/2016.
So looks like its reset and that its a fresh one without the CAP. Right?
One more question - As I'm not currently using the above petition and it would expire this year, would it affect anything ?