What is a priority date and how is it set?

Your priority date is the date a qualifying immigration petition was filed on your behalf. For employment-based cases (EB-1/EB-2/EB-3) it is the date the PERM Labor Certification was filed with DOL (or the I-140 filing date if PERM was not required). For family preference (F1, F2A, F2B, F3, F4) it is the date the I-130 was filed. The date is set in stone once established and travels with you across employer changes (via INA §204(j) portability) and even some category changes.

Final Action vs. Dates for Filing — which one applies to me?

The Final Action Dates chart is when a green card can actually be issued (or I-485 approved) for cases with priority dates at or before the cut-off. The Dates for Filing chart is an earlier date USCIS may permit applicants to use for I-485 filing — getting the application on file even if final action is months or years away. USCIS announces by the 15th of the prior month which chart may be used. The widget shows both so you can plan filing and approval timelines separately.

What is country of chargeability?

It is the country charged for visa quota purposes — generally the country of birth, not citizenship. INA §202(a)(2) caps each country to 7% of the worldwide annual visa total, which produces multi-decade backlogs for India and China. INA §202(b) cross-chargeability allows a spouse to use the partner's country if it is more favorable; an applicant born in a third country to non-citizen parents may sometimes claim that country. The widget defaults to All Other Countries — switch if you were born in China, India, Mexico, or the Philippines.

Why does India EB-2 say a 2014 cut-off?

Because the queue is roughly 12 years long. India was charged 23,400 employment-based visas in FY 2024 against an applicant pool that grew much faster — the per-country cap means India EB-2 dates regress when more EB-1 demand spills over and when USCIS adjusts I-485 inventory mix. Recent CATO and CIS analyses estimate the India EB-2 backlog at 100+ years for new filings absent reform legislation.

Can my priority date go backwards (retrogression)?

Yes. The State Department adjusts cut-offs each month based on visa-issuance demand. When demand surges (often near the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30), the cut-off retrogresses to ration the remaining quota. Your priority date itself does not change, but the cut-off may move past it again. Cases with approved I-485 maintain their EAD and AP regardless of retrogression — only final adjudication waits.

What is INA §245(i) and does it apply to me?

INA §245(i) is a closed grandfathering provision that allowed certain applicants to adjust status in the U.S. despite ineligibility under §245(a) by paying a $1,000 penalty. It applies only to cases where a qualifying I-130, I-360, or labor certification was filed by April 30, 2001. If your case did not start before that date, §245(i) does not apply and consular processing is required for unauthorized stays.

Priority Date Tracker — Visa Bulletin Cut-Off Lookup (May 2026)

How to use this tracker

The State Department publishes a fresh Visa Bulletin around the 10th of every month, listing the cut-off priority date for each preference category and country of chargeability. If your priority date is on or before the cut-off, your case is "current" — a visa is available and final adjudication can proceed.

Two charts matter: Final Action Dates (Chart A) governs when a green card can actually be issued, and Dates for Filing (Chart B) is an earlier set USCIS may permit AOS applicants to use for I-485 filing. USCIS announces by the 15th of the prior month which chart applies for AOS that month — DOS controls Chart A for consular processing year-round.

This widget reads the current bulletin published by the State Department and compares your priority date against both charts simultaneously. Switch country to compare backlogs (e.g., a 2018 EB-3 priority date is current for "All Other" but multi-year-backlogged for India).

Per-country caps and why India / China see the longest waits

INA §202(a)(2) caps each country at 7% of the annual employment-based visa total (140,000 per year ≈ 9,800 per country). The per-country cap means demand from India and China — both heavily oversubscribed — is rationed across decades while smaller countries clear their queues each year. Estimates from Cato Institute and the Center for Immigration Studies place the India EB-2 wait for new filings at over a century absent reform.

Because of cross-chargeability under INA §202(b), an applicant married to a spouse born in a non-backlogged country may use that country instead. This is a meaningful planning lever for India- and China-born applicants whose spouse was born in a third country. Children "age out" at 21 unless protected by the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), which freezes age at the I-130/I-140 filing date for I-485 purposes — calculate CSPA age separately as the bulletin advances.

Reading retrogression and forward movement

The bulletin moves forward in normal months and may retrogress (move backward) when demand surges. Common retrogression triggers:

End of fiscal year (USCIS pushes AOS approvals through September 30 to use the year's quota; remaining demand pushes cut-offs back in October).
Spillover quota redistribution (unused EB-1 visas spill to EB-2 worldwide; redistribution math mid-year can push EB-2 cut-offs forward then back).
USCIS inventory adjustments — when USCIS reports a large pending I-485 inventory, the State Department slows the bulletin to ration visa numbers across the year.

If the bulletin retrogresses past your priority date, you do not lose your priority date — only final adjudication waits. AOS applicants whose I-485 is already filed retain employment authorization (EAD) and travel permission (AP) regardless. Use the Visa Bulletin pillar for monthly archive and trend analysis.

What the tracker does NOT do

This tracker reports current month status only. It does not predict future cut-off movement (no model can — DOS and USCIS adjust monthly based on demand). It does not handle CSPA age-out calculations (use a separate CSPA calculator). It does not advise on whether to file consular processing vs. AOS — that depends on travel needs, employment risk, and case-specific RFE history.

For employment-based applicants who are India- or China-born and considering an I-485 filing decision, the strategic question is usually "will Dates for Filing become available, and should I file at the earlier chart?" That requires monthly bulletin tracking plus USCIS's mid-month chart-applicability announcement. The pillar pages on green-card categories and EB-2 NIW walk through specific filing windows.

Bottom line

Use the tracker to monitor whether your priority date is current under the May 2026 Visa Bulletin and to plan I-485 filing windows. The data updates each month when the State Department publishes the new bulletin (around the 10th of the prior month).

Frequently asked questions

What is a priority date and how is it set?: Your priority date is the date a qualifying immigration petition was filed on your behalf. For employment-based cases (EB-1/EB-2/EB-3) it is the date the PERM Labor Certification was filed with DOL (or the I-140 filing date if PERM was not required). For family preference (F1, F2A, F2B, F3, F4) it is the date the I-130 was filed. The date is set in stone once established and travels with you across employer changes (via INA §204(j) portability) and even some category changes.
Final Action vs. Dates for Filing — which one applies to me?: The Final Action Dates chart is when a green card can actually be issued (or I-485 approved) for cases with priority dates at or before the cut-off. The Dates for Filing chart is an earlier date USCIS may permit applicants to use for I-485 filing — getting the application on file even if final action is months or years away. USCIS announces by the 15th of the prior month which chart may be used. The widget shows both so you can plan filing and approval timelines separately.
What is country of chargeability?: It is the country charged for visa quota purposes — generally the country of birth, not citizenship. INA §202(a)(2) caps each country to 7% of the worldwide annual visa total, which produces multi-decade backlogs for India and China. INA §202(b) cross-chargeability allows a spouse to use the partner's country if it is more favorable; an applicant born in a third country to non-citizen parents may sometimes claim that country. The widget defaults to All Other Countries — switch if you were born in China, India, Mexico, or the Philippines.
Why does India EB-2 say a 2014 cut-off?: Because the queue is roughly 12 years long. India was charged 23,400 employment-based visas in FY 2024 against an applicant pool that grew much faster — the per-country cap means India EB-2 dates regress when more EB-1 demand spills over and when USCIS adjusts I-485 inventory mix. Recent CATO and CIS analyses estimate the India EB-2 backlog at 100+ years for new filings absent reform legislation.
Can my priority date go backwards (retrogression)?: Yes. The State Department adjusts cut-offs each month based on visa-issuance demand. When demand surges (often near the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30), the cut-off retrogresses to ration the remaining quota. Your priority date itself does not change, but the cut-off may move past it again. Cases with approved I-485 maintain their EAD and AP regardless of retrogression — only final adjudication waits.
What is INA §245(i) and does it apply to me?: INA §245(i) is a closed grandfathering provision that allowed certain applicants to adjust status in the U.S. despite ineligibility under §245(a) by paying a $1,000 penalty. It applies only to cases where a qualifying I-130, I-360, or labor certification was filed by April 30, 2001. If your case did not start before that date, §245(i) does not apply and consular processing is required for unauthorized stays.