If you’ve applied for an immigrant visa and are eagerly awaiting the chance to get your green card, you might have noticed all the fuss people make over their “priority date.” If you haven’t heard of a priority date yet, but you are just starting your immigration journey, it won’t be long before it’s one of the most significant things on your mind.
Your green card priority date is a critical milestone in your green card process, particularly for employment-based categories such as the EB-2 priority date and EB-1 green card priority date.
This blog post will explain what a priority date is, how it is used, and why so many applicants closely monitor their I-140 priority date, PERM priority date, or even H-1B priority date while waiting to become lawful permanent residents. In addition, we will address some frequently asked questions to help you better understand how priority dates impact your overall immigration timeline.
What Is A Green Card Priority Date?
If you want to get a green card, you will need to eventually petition for an immigrant visa, and that is where the question “what is priority date for a green card” becomes vital. To get an immigrant visa, a petition will usually have to be filed on your behalf. It will almost always be one of the following petitions:
- Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative – If your visa will be through a family member
- Form I-140, Petition for Alien Worker – If your visa will be through your employer
- Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant
Your priority date will be either the date when U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) first receives and accepts the petition, such as your I-140 priority date for employment-based cases, or the date the Department of Labor receives and accepts your employer’s labor certification request, also known as the PERM priority date. You will find your priority date on the paperwork that will be sent to you once the petition is received and accepted.
Think of your priority date as holding your place in line. That’s the simple explanation, but it’s not actually very simple at all, which is just one reason why it’s helpful to have an immigration attorney help you through the green card process.
Understanding your priority date becomes even more important once you know how different immigration categories function. For example, applicants in the EB-1 and EB-2 employment categories often track their dates closely because demand fluctuates each year based on global filings.
An EB-2 priority date may move quickly during some months and then slow down or experience retrogression when visa numbers run out. Meanwhile, those with an EB-1 green card priority date sometimes enjoy faster processing because EB-1 is allocated a higher share of total employment-based visas.
Family-based applicants experience similar challenges, especially if they are from countries with historically high demand, such as Mexico, India, or the Philippines. In those cases, a priority date may remain backlogged for years, making it essential for applicants to understand how the U.S. immigration system ranks, allocates, and releases visas each fiscal year.
It is also important to clarify that your PERM priority date, if your case requires labor certification, is different from your I-140 filing date. The labor certification date becomes the official priority date, even if your employer submits the I-140 priority date petition at a later time. Knowing which date determines your place in the visa queue helps avoid confusion and ensures you follow the correct timeline.
How Do Officials Use Your Priority Date?
If you are seeking a green card from outside the United States, USCIS usually transfers your case to the Department of State’s National Visa Center after your petition has been received and accepted.
The first step is pre-processing. If you are outside of the country and waiting to apply for an immigrant visa, the NVC will send you a letter that contains information for logging into the Consular Electronic Application Center to check your status, receive messages, and manage your case. If you are already in the United States, you should only have to apply for adjustment of status once a green card becomes available.
It’s important to discuss this process with your lawyer. There are some exceptions for people who only need an adjustment of status, but typically, most people waiting for a green card will need to keep an eye on the Department of State’s visa availability, whether they are inside the country already or waiting from outside the country.
Since the visa system is quota-based, tracking movement on the visa bulletin becomes a regular task for applicants. Each month, the bulletin publishes both “Final Action Dates,” which indicate when a green card may actually be issued, and “Dates for Filing,” which tell applicants when they may submit their applications even if a visa is not yet available.
Many people overlook this distinction, but it can have a significant impact on your ability to move forward with an adjustment of status. USCIS sometimes allows applicants in the U.S. to rely on the “Dates for Filing” chart, which can accelerate the process for those already maintaining lawful status, such as H-1B holders who want clarity about their H1B priority date in relation to future green card eligibility.
Additionally, visa retrogression, when previously current priority dates move backward, can happen unexpectedly. This often occurs at the end of the fiscal year when visa numbers are nearly exhausted. Applicants should continue maintaining a valid status and consult regularly with their attorneys to avoid missing filing windows.
Immigrant visas aren’t available without limit, unfortunately. So, people hoping to get an immigrant visa have to wait for a visa to become available. Keep in mind that each year, the set number of green cards available is broken down into a very complicated system based on priority categories. Each category also has a specific number available. Generally speaking, there are family-based visa categories and employment-based visa categories. In addition to limiting the overall number of immigrant visas each year, the number of green cards is also limited based on countries of origin.
After the petition for your visa has been submitted and accepted, you or you and your lawyer have to keep an eye on the visa bulletin. The U.S. Department of State publishes a monthly visa bulletin announcing what visas are available and what priority dates can move forward in the process of applying to become a lawful permanent resident.
Green Card Priority Date FAQs
Why Do So Many People Focus On Their Priority Date?
NVC does attempt to contact applicants when a visa becomes available to them, but this doesn’t always work out exactly as planned, so most applicants keep an eye on the visa bulletin so that they don’t miss their chance to apply for it.
Once a visa is available based on your priority category and priority date, you only have one year to apply for the visa, or the petition is considered abandoned, and your place in line would be lost.
Many people also pay close attention to the priority dates on the visa bulletin so that they can get a rough idea of where they are in line. The closer the current availability dates are to their own priority date, the closer they know they are to becoming green card holders.
If the applicant is already in the United States on another type of visa, they know that when their priority date is on the visa bulletin, they can apply for an adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident. Meanwhile, if they are not in the country yet, they know that they can finally file their visa application and get their green card interview scheduled at a consulate or embassy abroad.
After the Priority Date, What Next?
Applicants should understand the practical steps that come after their priority date becomes current. If you are applying through consular processing, the National Visa Center will begin asking for civil documents, financial evidence, and the immigrant visa application fee. Responding promptly is crucial because delays may push your case into administrative backlogs.
For adjustment of status applicants inside the U.S., becoming current on the visa bulletin means you may finally file Form I-485 along with other supporting documents, such as your medical exam and employment authorization application.
Reaching this stage does not mean a green card is guaranteed. USCIS may still request additional evidence, schedule interviews, or require updated documents, especially if your case has been pending for an extended period. Many applicants schedule legal consultations at this point to ensure that nothing jeopardizes their eligibility after waiting years for their priority date to become current.
Can I Schedule An Interview With The Consulate Before A Visa Is Available?
No, unfortunately, you can’t move forward at all until your priority date is shown as current on the visa bulletin. There must be an available immigrant visa for you before you can schedule your interview.
If My Priority Date Is Shown As Current On The Visa Bulletin, When Should I Contact NVC?
Because errors occur frequently enough and because you have a deadline to apply for your immigrant visa once a visa is available to you, USCIS suggests that you or your attorney contact NVC to get the ball rolling as soon as you see that a visa is available.
Experienced Immigration Lawyers in San Francisco
Warren Law Firm has experience in all matters of immigration law. The complexity of green card priority dates shows why having a lawyer by your side through your immigration journey is so important, and there is no room for error. It’s important to choose an immigration law firm that you can trust. This may be the most significant process of your life, so contact us as soon as you’re ready to move forward.
