Priority date calculator: when will my green card be current?
Pick your category and country and enter your priority date. The calculator compares it with today's final action date and projects when the line reaches it at the speed it has really moved over the last one, three and five years.
What the estimate means
Every month the State Department moves each line by as much as the remaining visa numbers allow. Measured over years, each line has a fairly stable speed: some clear a year of priority dates every year, some clear a few months. Dividing the distance between your priority date and today's cut-off by that speed gives the month the cut-off is likely to reach you, if nothing changes.
Things that do change it: new legislation, a wave of new petitions in your category, numbers falling from family to employment categories (or the other way) in October, and retrogression near the end of the fiscal year. That is why the result is a range – the fast estimate uses the best recent speed, the slow one the worst.
When your date becomes current in chart B (dates for filing) you may be able to submit the I-485 or the NVC documents before it is current in chart A; check the category page for both charts.
Calculator questions
How is the estimate calculated?
From the State Department's own bulletins: the gap between your priority date and today's final action date, divided by how many months of priority dates the line cleared per year over the last one, three and five years. The fastest of the recent speeds gives the early estimate, the five-year speed the typical one and the slowest the late one.
How accurate is it?
It is a projection, not a forecast. It is close for lines that move steadily and poor for lines that stall for months, jump or retrogress. Use the category page to see how irregular your line has been.
Where do I find my priority date?
On the I-797 receipt or approval notice of your I-130 (family) or I-140 (employment) petition, or on the PERM approval for most employment cases.
Category histories
Source: U.S. Department of State, Visa Bulletin (travel.state.gov), every monthly bulletin since 2003, parsed by 77.today. A bulletin can be revised after release; the State Department's page is the binding text. Not legal advice.