What is a priority date?

Your priority date is your place in the green-card queue — usually the date your immigrant petition (I-130 or I-140) was filed. You can take the final step toward a green card only once your priority date becomes current under the monthly visa bulletin.

What does current mean?

A priority date is current when it is earlier than (or equal to) the final-action cutoff date the State Department lists for your category and country. If your date is current, a visa number is available and you may proceed; if not, you wait.

What is retrogression?

Retrogression happens when demand exceeds supply and the cutoff date moves backward, so dates that were once current are no longer current. It is common late in the fiscal year and means affected applicants must wait again for the cutoff to advance.

Are these cutoff dates always up to date?

No. The visa bulletin updates monthly, and the cutoffs embedded here reflect a specific bulletin month. Always verify against the latest official Department of State Visa Bulletin before making any filing decision.

What is the difference between final-action and filing dates?

The bulletin publishes two charts: final-action dates determine when a green card can actually be approved, and dates-for-filing determine when you may submit your adjustment-of-status application. USCIS announces monthly which chart applies; this tool uses final-action dates.

Immigration Priority Date Tracker

Whether you can take the next step toward a green card depends on a single comparison: is your priority date earlier than the visa bulletin’s final-action cutoff for your category and country? This tracker makes that comparison against embedded cutoff dates and tells you immediately whether your date is current or still retrogressed.

How it works

Each employment-based (EB) and family-sponsored (F) preference category has a cutoff date per country of chargeability. Your date is current when:

your priority date  <=  final-action cutoff date  →  CURRENT
your priority date  >   final-action cutoff date  →  not current (wait)

A category marked “C” (current) means there is no backlog and any priority date qualifies. The embedded cutoffs reflect one specific bulletin month and must be refreshed each time a new bulletin releases.

Example and tips

If the EB-2 India final-action cutoff is January 1, 2013 and your priority date is March 15, 2012, your date is earlier than the cutoff, so you are current and may proceed. If your date is June 1, 2014, you are behind the cutoff and must wait. Always confirm against the official bulletin for the current month, and check whether USCIS has designated the final-action or the dates-for-filing chart for adjustment-of-status that month — the answer changes which date you compare against.