Green Card Priority Date: What It Is and How to Check Yours
What Is a Priority Date?
Your priority date is essentially your place in line for a green card. It is the date that determines when you can file for adjustment of status (I-485) or have your immigrant visa issued at a consulate. The earlier your priority date, the sooner you can get your green card — but the wait depends on your category and country of birth.
Where Does Your Priority Date Come From?
Employment-based with PERM (EB-2, EB-3): Your priority date is the date your employer filed the PERM labor certification with the Department of Labor. Not the approval date — the filing date. Employment-based without PERM (EB-1, EB-2 NIW, EB-5): Your priority date is the date your I-140 (or I-526E for EB-5) was filed with USCIS. Family-based: Your priority date is the date your I-130 was filed with USCIS. Immediate relatives (spouse, parent, unmarried child under 21 of U.S. citizen): No priority date needed — immediate relatives are always current.
How to Check Your Priority Date
Your priority date appears on your I-797 approval notice for your I-140 or I-130. It is listed in the upper-left section of the notice. If you used PERM, cross-reference with your PERM filing date (from the DOL case number). You can also find it through your USCIS online account if you filed electronically.
Priority Date vs Visa Bulletin
Each month, the State Department publishes the Visa Bulletin with cutoff dates for each category and country. Compare your priority date to the cutoff: if your date is before the cutoff, you are "current" and can proceed. If after, you wait. Example: if the EB-2 India cutoff is January 1, 2015 and your priority date is March 15, 2014, you are current. If your priority date is June 1, 2016, you are not current and must wait for the dates to advance past your date. Use our Green Card Calculator to check instantly.
Priority Date Retention and Portability
One of the most powerful features of the priority date system is retention. If your I-140 was approved for at least 180 days, your priority date is retained even if the I-140 is later revoked (e.g., because you changed employers). Under AC21 portability, you can "port" your priority date to a new employer's petition. You can also port between categories — if you have an EB-3 priority date from 2015 and later qualify for EB-2, your new EB-2 petition can capture the 2015 date.
What Happens During Retrogression
If the Visa Bulletin dates move backward (retrogress) past your priority date after you already filed I-485, your case remains pending — USCIS simply holds it until your date becomes current again. You keep your EAD and Advance Parole during the wait. Your I-485 is not denied due to retrogression. This is why filing I-485 as soon as dates are current is critical — it locks in your benefits even if dates retrogress later.