I entered US on a fresh H1B in 2010 and worked as an employee for a firm that filed bankruptcy three weeks back. I am going to file for H4 as a dependent on my wife's H1B and continue to look for jobs. If I get an offer while the H4 petition is still being processed:

1. Will I be subjected to a quota?
2. Will I be able to work as soon as the H1B petition is applied by the new company or do I need to wait for the approval to come through?
3. OR to keep things simple, if an offer is impending (within next 3 weeks), should I remain on H1B and not apply for H4 at all?

FYI - Before 2010, I spent about 6 years in the US on my H visa before spending a year outside US.