H1B-Validity and extension

[pavankundapur]

Hi,

All its my pleasure to see the great job you pppl have done puuting up this website and sharing your experience about H1B-Visas and related stuff. I have a peculiar problem where i hold a stamped H1B visa from my employer and it is valid till 16th April 2009. But due to the crisis my employer is not having any opportunities for me right now and I havent travelled to US even once. I wanted to know that if I dont travel to US before that date and if my visa gets expired. Will I be able to renew it. Or should I travel to US atelast once and then apply for extension there.

Or in plain words how significant is the expiry date on VISA and petition documents. In my case VISA and petition expiry date are both same.