What is a priority date?
Data as of · Source: USCIS and U.S. Department of State
Family-sponsored and employment-based preference green cards are limited by law: at least 226,000 family-sponsored and 140,000 employment-based visas a year. When more people qualify than there are visas, a line forms.
USCIS explains that the Department of State uses the priority date to set each person's place in that line, together with the preference category and the country of chargeability (usually the country of birth). Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of citizens 21 or older) have no annual limit, so they do not wait for a priority date.
How the priority date is set
From USCIS, Visa Availability and Priority Dates.
| Your category | Your priority date is |
|---|---|
| Family-sponsored (F1, F2A, F2B, F3, F4) | The date Form I-130 (or in certain cases Form I-360) is properly filed with USCIS. |
| Employment-based, labor certification required (most EB-2 and EB-3) | The date the Department of Labor accepts the labor certification (PERM) application for processing. The employer must file Form I-140 within 180 days of the DOL approval, or the labor certification is no longer valid. |
| Employment-based, no labor certification (EB-1, EB-2 national interest waiver) | The date USCIS accepts Form I-140 for processing. |
| EB-4 special immigrants, including religious workers | The date USCIS accepts Form I-360 for processing. |
| EB-5 investors | The date USCIS accepts Form I-526 for processing. |
Priority date cutoffs in the October 2026 Visa Bulletin
Final action dates. Your priority date must be earlier than the date shown. Open a cell for its history.
FAQ
Where do I find my priority date?
USCIS says you can find it on Form I-797, Notice of Action, for the petition filed on your behalf.
When can I move forward with my priority date?
When your priority date is earlier than the cutoff date for your category and country in the chart USCIS designates that month, or the chart shows "C" (current). USCIS and the Department of State decide eligibility; this page only explains the published rules.
Why do people born in India or China wait longer?
The law limits each country to 7% of the family-sponsored and employment-based preference visas in a year (25,620 in the October 2026 bulletin). When demand from one country is higher, that country gets its own, earlier cutoff date in the Visa Bulletin.
More guides
Sources: USCIS, Visa Availability and Priority Dates; U.S. Department of State, Visa Bulletin (October 2026). This page explains published rules and is not legal advice.