Greencard Abandoned before approval - Return back to US

One of my friends has a peculiar problem.

He came to US in 2003 on L1. He moved to H1 on 2007 He had spent total of 4 years on L1 and 2 years on H1. His employer had filed labor for him in 2007. He got his labor and 140 approved and filed for 485 in 2008 After filing 485, before it was approved, he left the country in 2009 for good. However they still approved his green card and sent it to his old address but he did not receive it.

Now after all these years, he wants to come back to US. He is trying to explore his options.

a) Will he be able to use the remaining years on H1 since there is 4 more years left. (He had stayed 4 years on L1) and has been out of country for around 5 years now . Is he exempt from H1 Cap ?

b) if Option a is not possible can he use his approved 140 copy and get a 3 year H1 extension

c) Based on his conversation with few attorneys he was told that if he ever applies for B1 or F1 visa he will have to forego his GC at consulate / port of entry for sure. But if he gets H1 visa again there is a chance he would not be questioned about the GC and would be admitted on H1, after which he can look for some legal recourse to claim his GC.

c) His first objective is to come back to the US. whether thru H1 or GC is not a concern. However in case he enters as H1, will be be able to port the priority date from earlier I140 considering that 485 was approved for it ??


Thought the gurus on this forum might be able to help. Any thoughts appreciated