Priority date calculator

A priority date calculator compares your priority date with the latest Visa Bulletin cutoffs. If your date is earlier than the final action date for your category and country, a visa number can be issued. If it is earlier than the date for filing, you may be able to file your green card application, when USCIS accepts that chart. In October 2026, the EB-2 India final action date is November 1, 2013, and the date for filing is January 15, 2015. Enter your date to see the gap to each cutoff and the historical wait for that date.

Worked example

A fixed example, EB-2 India with a priority date of Jun 1, 2014. Its figures come from the October 2026 bulletin and change with each release.

How the calculation works

• Reached. A bulletin has reached your priority date when its cutoff is a date later than yours, or when the category is listed as current. A cutoff equal to your date has not reached it.
• Months behind. Your priority date minus the cutoff date, in average months. Shown only when the cutoff has not reached your date.
• First reached and pulled back. The first bulletin, in or after your priority date's own month, that reached it, and each later bulletin that moved the cutoff back to your date or earlier. A category that pauses as unavailable and then recovers is not a pull-back.
• Category projection. The average movement of the last 24 bulletins applied to a priority date filed today. It describes the category, not your date, and it is not a forecast.

The full definitions are on the methodology page.

Current cutoffs for every category, October 2026 bulletin

Questions

What does a priority date calculator do?

It compares your priority date with the cutoff dates in the latest Visa Bulletin for your category and country. It shows whether your date is earlier than the final action date and the date for filing, how many months behind each cutoff it is if not, and how long the same priority date waited in past bulletins.

How do I know if my priority date is current?

Your priority date is current when it is earlier than the final action date listed for your category and country in the current Visa Bulletin, or when the bulletin lists your category as C (current). In the October 2026 bulletin, the EB-2 India final action date is November 1, 2013.

What is the difference between the final action date and the date for filing?

The final action date decides when a visa number can be issued and a green card approved. The date for filing is usually later and decides when you may submit an application early. USCIS announces each month which chart it accepts for adjustment of status applications.

What happens if the cutoff date moves backwards?

This is called retrogression. A priority date that was current can stop being current when the State Department moves the cutoff earlier. The calculator shows each time the cutoff reached your date and each time it was pulled back.

Can the calculator tell me when my priority date will become current?

No. The State Department does not commit to future cutoff dates. The calculator shows where your date stands today, how long the same date took in the past, and a category-level figure based on the average movement of the last 24 bulletins, which is arithmetic on past movement and not a forecast.

Related guides

• What a priority date is and how to find yours
• Final action date vs date for filing
• Why visa bulletin dates retrogress
• How the visa bulletin works each month
• EB-2 vs EB-3 for India and China
• The latest Visa Bulletin and the archive back to 2001

Where these numbers come from