I did it the other way around. I started to work as a freelancer for quite a large company. After a while, they offered me a full-time job under the J-1 visa. During the J-1, they applied for an H1-B for me. My H1-B application failed in the first year, so they had to extend J-1 (6 months is the maximum allowed extension). They applied for another H1-B and I finally got it. My J-1 expiration time was somewhere in August, so I had to go back to my home country. I had one month and half to get an H1-B stamping and during this period I worked remotely. I got back to US in the early of October, but now with an H1-B stamping.<p>P.S. The reason they made me a J-1 visa initially is because it was the fastest way to get me to US.