What Is a Priority Date? How to Read Yours in the Visa Bulletin

A priority date is your place in line for a green card. It is the date that fixes when you joined the queue for an immigrant visa number in a family or employment preference category, and every month the State Department's Visa Bulletin says which priority dates may move forward. When your priority date is earlier than the cutoff date for your category and country, your date is "current" and your case can proceed.

For most family cases the priority date is the day USCIS received the Form I-130 petition. For employment cases it is usually the day the Department of Labor accepted the PERM labor certification for processing, or, when no labor certification is needed, the day USCIS received the Form I-140. The date does not change while you wait, but the cutoff dates in the bulletin do, sometimes forward and sometimes back.

This guide explains where to find your priority date, how to compare it with the Visa Bulletin, what "current", "C" and "U" mean, the difference between the two charts, and how long real priority dates have taken to become current. All bulletin figures come from our archive of 275 monthly bulletins from October 2003 to October 2026.

Priority date in one table

Question	Short answer
What is it	The date that sets your place in line for a limited immigrant visa number
Family cases	The date the Form I-130 was properly filed with USCIS
Employment cases with PERM	The date the Department of Labor accepted the labor certification for processing
Employment cases without PERM (EB-1, NIW)	The date the completed, signed Form I-140 was properly filed with USCIS
Where you see it	On the Form I-797 receipt or approval notice ("Priority Date" box), or on the approved PERM certification
When it matters	Only in preference categories with annual limits; immediate relatives of U.S. citizens do not wait for a priority date
What "current" means	Your priority date is earlier than the cutoff date for your category and country in this month's bulletin

How your priority date is set

Family-sponsored cases

For a family preference petition, the priority date is the date USCIS properly receives the Form I-130 filed for you. That date is printed on the receipt notice. It applies to the five family preference categories: F1 (unmarried adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens), F2A (spouses and children under 21 of permanent residents), F2B (unmarried adult sons and daughters of permanent residents), F3 (married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens) and F4 (brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens).

Spouses, parents and unmarried children under 21 of U.S. citizens are immediate relatives. There is no annual cap for them, so the Visa Bulletin does not apply and the priority date has no practical effect; the wait is only processing time, covered in our I-130 processing time guide.

Employment-based cases

Under 8 CFR 204.5(d), the priority date of an employment petition that needs a labor certification "shall be the date the labor certification application was accepted for processing by any office of the Department of Labor." For petitions that do not need one, such as EB-1 extraordinary ability or an EB-2 national interest waiver, it is the date the completed, signed petition is properly filed with USCIS. PERM timing therefore matters: the earlier your employer files PERM, the earlier your place in line. Current PERM times are in our PERM processing time tracker.

Keeping a priority date when you change jobs or categories

Once an I-140 is approved, 8 CFR 204.5(e) lets you keep that priority date for a later EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 petition, and if you have several approved petitions you are "entitled to the earliest priority date." The date is lost only if USCIS revokes the approval for fraud or willful misrepresentation, because the labor certification was invalidated or revoked, or because of a material error. A denied petition does not create a priority date, and a priority date cannot be transferred to another person.

This is how people "port" an older date: an EB-3 worker who later qualifies for EB-2 files a new EB-2 petition and, once it is approved, uses the earlier EB-3 priority date with the EB-2 cutoff. It is also why an EB-2 worker sometimes files a new EB-3 petition (a "downgrade") when the EB-3 cutoff is ahead of EB-2 for their country.

How to read the Visa Bulletin with your priority date

1. Know your category. It is on the petition: F1 to F4 for family, EB-1 to EB-5 for employment.
2. Know your country of chargeability. It is normally your country of birth, not citizenship. The bulletin has separate columns only for countries with high demand (currently China, India, Mexico and the Philippines); everyone else uses "All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed".
3. Pick the right chart. Each bulletin has a Final Action Dates chart and a Dates for Filing chart. Final Action decides when a visa or green card can be approved. Dates for Filing decides when you may submit paperwork earlier, if USCIS allows that chart that month.
4. Compare. If your priority date is earlier than the date in your row and column, your date is current for that chart this month.
5. Check again next month. Dates move every month and are not guaranteed to move forward.

What "C" and "U" mean

• C (Current): every priority date qualifies. There is no backlog in that category and country this month.
• U (Unavailable): no visa numbers can be issued in that category this month, whatever your priority date. It often appears at the end of a fiscal year when the annual limit has been used.
• A date: only priority dates earlier than that date qualify.

Final Action Dates vs Dates for Filing

The Final Action chart is the real cutoff: a green card or immigrant visa can be issued only when your priority date is earlier than the Final Action date. The Dates for Filing chart is usually ahead of it and tells applicants when they can start the paperwork. For people abroad, the National Visa Center uses it to invite applicants to submit documents. For people in the United States, USCIS announces every month whether it accepts the Dates for Filing chart or only the Final Action chart for Form I-485; for October 2026 it accepts Dates for Filing for both family and employment categories.

	Final Action Dates	Dates for Filing
What it decides	When a case can be approved	When you can submit an application or documents
Who uses it	USCIS and consulates for approval	NVC for documents; USCIS for I-485 filing in months it says so
Usually	Further back	Ahead of Final Action
Published since	Long before our archive starts (2003)	October 2015

Final Action Dates in October 2026

These are the cutoffs in force for October 2026. If your priority date is earlier than the date in your row and column, it is current for approval this month.

Category	All other countries	China	India	Mexico	Philippines
EB-1	Current	Jul 1, 2023	Feb 1, 2023	Current	Current
EB-2	Jan 1, 2025	Oct 1, 2021	Nov 1, 2013	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 1, 2025
EB-3	May 15, 2024	Jan 8, 2022	Jan 1, 2014	May 15, 2024	Aug 15, 2023
EB-3 Other Workers	Jan 1, 2022	Oct 1, 2019	Jan 1, 2014	Jan 1, 2022	Jan 1, 2022
EB-4	Dec 15, 2022	Dec 15, 2022	Dec 15, 2022	Dec 15, 2022	Dec 15, 2022
F1	Jan 22, 2020	Jan 22, 2020	Jan 22, 2020	Sep 8, 2008	Nov 1, 2013
F2A	Sep 22, 2026	Sep 22, 2026	Sep 22, 2026	Mar 22, 2026	Sep 22, 2026
F2B	Aug 22, 2019	Aug 22, 2019	Aug 22, 2019	May 15, 2010	Oct 1, 2013
F3	Oct 22, 2014	Oct 22, 2014	Oct 22, 2014	Jul 1, 2001	Jul 22, 2006
F4	Oct 22, 2011	Oct 22, 2011	Dec 15, 2006	Apr 22, 2001	May 15, 2008

Dates for Filing in October 2026

Category	All other countries	China	India	Mexico	Philippines
EB-1	Current	Jul 1, 2024	Jul 1, 2024	Current	Current
EB-2	Mar 15, 2026	Jan 1, 2023	Jan 15, 2015	Mar 15, 2026	Mar 15, 2026
EB-3	Aug 1, 2024	Apr 1, 2024	Jan 15, 2015	Aug 1, 2024	Jan 1, 2024
EB-3 Other Workers	Jun 1, 2022	Oct 1, 2020	Jan 15, 2015	Jun 1, 2022	Jun 1, 2022
EB-4	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 1, 2025
F1	Feb 1, 2020	Feb 1, 2020	Feb 1, 2020	Dec 1, 2008	Apr 22, 2015
F2A	Current	Current	Current	Current	Current
F2B	Sep 1, 2019	Sep 1, 2019	Sep 1, 2019	Mar 22, 2011	Oct 1, 2014
F3	Nov 1, 2014	Nov 1, 2014	Nov 1, 2014	Dec 1, 2002	Oct 22, 2006
F4	Nov 1, 2011	Nov 1, 2011	Feb 1, 2007	Apr 30, 2001	Mar 22, 2009

The full monthly history for every row is in our Visa Bulletin tracker, and the month's changes are explained in Visa Bulletin October 2026.

How long until a priority date becomes current: real examples

There is no official waiting time, and past movement does not guarantee future movement. What the archive can show is how long actual priority dates waited. The table takes a priority date of June 1 in a given year and finds the first bulletin whose Final Action date passed it. In some rows the cutoff later moved back again, so "first current" is the earliest month an approval was possible, not a guarantee that every case was approved that month.

Category	Priority date	First current (Final Action)	Wait
EB-2, all other countries	Jun 1, 2023	April 2025	1.8 years
EB-3, all other countries	Jun 1, 2023	March 2026	2.7 years
EB-2, India	Jun 1, 2012	January 2022	9.6 years
EB-3, India	Jun 1, 2012	July 2021	9.1 years
EB-2, China	Jun 1, 2016	June 2019	3.0 years
F2A, all other countries	Jun 1, 2023	October 2025	2.3 years
F3, all other countries	Jun 1, 2010	January 2025	14.6 years
F4, all other countries	Jun 1, 2007	March 2024	16.8 years
F4, Mexico	Jun 1, 1998	August 2020	22.2 years

The same priority date can wait a few years in one row and more than a decade in another, which is why the country column matters as much as the category. For estimates by category based on how each row has moved, see Visa Bulletin predictions; for the full timeline from petition to green card, see how long it takes to get a green card.

Why priority dates move backward (retrogression)

The law caps family preference visas and employment visas each year and limits any single country to 7% of the combined total. When more applicants with early priority dates are ready than the remaining numbers allow, the State Department moves a cutoff back, which is called retrogression. October 2026 shows it: EB-2 for all other countries went from Current in September to Jan 1, 2025, and EB-3 from Sep 1, 2024 to May 15, 2024. The bulletin said the changes were needed "to keep visa issuances within FY 2027 quarterly and annual limits."

Retrogression does not cancel anything. A filed I-485 stays pending and can be approved once the date moves past your priority date again. It does mean an approval you expected can be delayed by months.

When your priority date becomes current

If you are in the United States

• When your date is current on the chart USCIS accepts that month, you can file Form I-485 (if you are otherwise eligible to adjust status).
• Approval waits until your date is current on the Final Action chart.
• Check the USCIS filing chart page at the start of every month, because the accepted chart can change.

If you are abroad

• The National Visa Center contacts you when your date is close to current; you pay the fees, file Form DS-260 and upload civil documents.
• An interview at the U.S. embassy or consulate is scheduled once your date is current on the Final Action chart and your file is complete.

Special situations

Spouses and children (derivatives)

A spouse and unmarried children under 21 who are listed on the case usually share the principal applicant's priority date and category. They do not need their own petition while they qualify as derivatives.

Cross-chargeability

If your spouse was born in a country with a shorter wait, the law in some cases allows you to be charged to your spouse's country instead of your own, which can mean an earlier cutoff. The same applies in limited cases when you were born in a country where neither parent was born or resided. Ask your attorney or the consulate whether it applies to you.

When the petitioner naturalizes or your status changes

Family categories can convert. If a green card holder who filed for a spouse becomes a U.S. citizen, the spouse becomes an immediate relative and no longer needs a current priority date. If an F2A child turns 21, the case converts to F2B and keeps the original priority date. The rules are in 8 CFR 204.2, and our I-130 guide explains the conversions.

Common priority date mistakes

• Using the filing date of the I-485 instead of the I-130 or PERM date. The priority date comes from the petition, not the green card application.
• Using the wrong column. Chargeability is by birth, so a Canadian citizen born in India uses the India column.
• Checking only Final Action. In months when USCIS accepts the Dates for Filing chart, you may be able to file months or years earlier.
• Assuming dates only move forward. Retrogression happens, often near the start or end of a fiscal year.
• Not recapturing an older date. If you have an earlier approved I-140, its priority date can usually be used on a new employment petition.