Determining re-entry after maxout of L1b visa

[Madhuri2203]

Hello,

I have a L1b visa initially issued in Nov 2011. My initial Visa was issued for 2 years and 6 months. That's till July 2014. I had taken a vacation in 2013 for 5 weeks. This made 5 weeks of out-of-usa days and when I went for renewal of L1b visa, these five weeks were recaptured. I was issued visa till Dec 2016. However while I went to India for L1b renewal in 2015 june, I stayed in India for 1 month and 15 days. Thus, in Dec 2016, when my L1b was about to expire - I had two options: 1. To apply for an extension for the vacation period 1 month 15 days or 2. To go out of country for a year (since I have maxed out the 5 year period). I chose the second option and moved out of USA.

My question: when can I apply for a US Visa? Since, I left USA in Dec 2016 (leaving 1 month 15 days of vacation time not captured in the 5 year max out period) can I apply for US Visa in mid-october or do I need to wait for 365 days out-of-US before applying?

Please advise me basing on your/your family and friends' experiences! Any advise will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in anticipation!

[scientist2016]

It does not matter how much time was left on your previous visa. You have to wait for 365 days after your previous departure to be able to apply for a fresh visa. If not, you will be given only the amount of time left over from your previous visa i.e., it will not be considered a fresh application.