Nobody is going to believe this but I did bother to call the USCIS this afternoon and asked this question to the representitive. I specifically pointed out that my H1B is now cap exempted, I have a company want to hire me but is concerned about the H1B quota is gone. Company lawyer told me not until April 1st can I file a new H1B and not until Oct. 1st I can start working for this new company. The representative kept telling me that as long as I have a valid H1b right now (does not matter whether it is counted against quota cap, nor the quota is gone for now), I can file right away that they are accepting petitions like this. And once I get the receipt I can start to work for new employer. Please if you guys are really caring this case, call USCIS for yourself and explain the same situation, see if a different representative will give the same answer. I told this to my future employer's lawyer he does not believe it, and kept telling me that the representative was wrong no matter how I explain to him I have pointed out the quota issue to her. I guess I cannot argue more with the company lawyer since I will have to rely on him filing my H1B sooner or later. But it is such a shame that I cannot take advantage of the H1B portability rule.