A priority date is your place in line for a green card in the family-sponsored and employment-based preference categories. The Visa Bulletin publishes a cutoff date for each category and country every month. When your priority date is earlier than that cutoff, a visa number can be issued for your case.
Spouses, unmarried children under 21 and parents of adult U.S. citizens are immediate relatives. They are not subject to the annual preference limits, have no cutoff date, and do not appear in the Visa Bulletin.
Which filing sets the date
The priority date is the date of the filing that started the case:
- Family cases (F1 to F4): the date USCIS received the Form I-130 petition.
- Employment cases that need a labor certification (most EB-2 and EB-3 cases): the date the Department of Labor received the PERM labor certification application.
- Employment cases without a labor certification (EB-1, EB-2 national interest waivers, Schedule A): the date USCIS received the Form I-140 petition.
- EB-5 investors: the date USCIS received the investor petition (Form I-526 or I-526E).
A priority date from an approved employment petition can usually be kept for a later employment petition, for example after changing employers or moving between EB-2 and EB-3. A petition revoked for fraud or a material error loses its date.
Where it is printed
USCIS prints the priority date on the Form I-797 notice for the I-130, I-140 or I-526 petition, in a box labeled “Priority Date”. For a case that went through PERM, the I-140 approval notice shows the labor certification filing date in that box. If you only have a receipt notice, the date may not be filled in yet; the approval notice has it.
Which column of the bulletin applies
The bulletin’s columns are countries of chargeability, which is normally your country of birth, not your citizenship. India, China (mainland born), Mexico and the Philippines have their own columns because demand from them exceeds the per-country limit. Everyone else uses the “All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed” column, shown on this site as All Other. In some cases a person can be charged to a spouse’s or a parent’s country of birth instead.
To compare your own date with the cutoff for your category and country, use the priority date calculator.
Comparing your date with the bulletin
Find your category and country, then compare your priority date with the final action date. If your date is earlier, your case can be approved. “C” means the category is current and every priority date qualifies. “U” means no visa numbers are available that month, whatever your date.
These are the current figures for some of the most watched categories:
| Category | Bulletin | Final action date | Date for filing | Backlog | Times moved back |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EB-2 India | October 2026 | Nov 1, 2013 | Jan 15, 2015 | 12.9 yr | 19 |
| EB-3 India | October 2026 | Jan 1, 2014 | Jan 15, 2015 | 12.7 yr | 11 |
| EB-2 China | October 2026 | Oct 1, 2021 | Jan 1, 2023 | 5.0 yr | 9 |
| F2B Mexico | October 2026 | May 15, 2010 | Mar 22, 2011 | 16.4 yr | 7 |
| F4 Philippines | October 2026 | May 15, 2008 | Mar 22, 2009 | 18.4 yr | 2 |
Each green card wait page on this site lets you save your priority date in your browser. The page then shows how far your date is from the current cutoff and highlights the row in the wait history table for people whose dates were close to yours. To find your page, use the selector on the home page or the list of every category and country.
The other half of each bulletin is the date for filing chart, which controls when you can submit your application rather than when it can be approved. Final action date vs date for filing explains the difference.