Guide
When is an employment-based priority date current?
Short answer
A priority date is current when it falls on or before the Final Action Date published in the most recent Visa Bulletin for your category and country of chargeability. When your date is current, you may be eligible to file your green card application or have it approved, depending on which chart USCIS has authorized that month.
What is a priority date?
Your priority date is the date the underlying case that establishes your place in line was filed. For most EB-2 and EB-3 cases that require a labor certification, it is the date the Department of Labor accepted your PERM application. For categories that do not require PERM — such as EB-1, EB-2 National Interest Waiver, and multinational managers — it is the date USCIS received your I-140 immigrant petition. It marks your position in the queue and, in most cases, stays with you even if you change employers or switch preference categories.
What the Visa Bulletin shows
Each month the Department of State publishes a Final Action Date for each employment category (EB-1, EB-2, EB-3) and each country of chargeability (India, China, Mexico, Philippines, and Rest of World). Your date is 'current' when your priority date is earlier than or equal to the listed date. A cell showing 'C' means the whole category is current; a cell showing 'U' means it is Unavailable and no one can move forward that month, no matter how old their priority date is.
Current for filing vs. current for approval
There is an important nuance: 'current' can mean two different things depending on the chart. Under the Dates for Filing chart (when USCIS authorizes it), being current lets you file Form I-485 and often obtain an Employment Authorization Document and Advance Parole — but your case cannot be approved until your date is also current under the Final Action Dates chart. Under the Final Action Dates chart, being current means a visa number can actually be allotted and your green card approved. Always check which chart applies for the month in question.
What happens when your date becomes current
Once current, you can take the next step. If you are inside the United States, you or your attorney file Form I-485 (Adjustment of Status). If you are abroad, you proceed through consular processing at a U.S. embassy or consulate. Filing does not guarantee approval — USCIS or the consulate still adjudicates eligibility, security checks, and admissibility. But becoming current is the milestone that unlocks the final stage.
Why cutoff dates move — and sometimes go backward
The Department of State adjusts Final Action Dates monthly based on projected demand, pending applications, approval rates, and the statutory annual and per-country caps. Dates can advance quickly, creep forward, stand still, retrogress (move backward), or become Unavailable near the end of a fiscal year when a category has used up its annual numbers. Retrogression is common in heavily oversubscribed categories like EB-2 and EB-3 India and China.
Edge cases to watch for
A few situations trip people up. If your date is current but you have not yet completed required steps (like the medical exam on Form I-693), you may miss the filing window before dates retrogress. If you have dependents (spouse or children under 21), the Child Status Protection Act may affect whether a child still qualifies as a derivative when the date becomes current. And if you were born in an oversubscribed country but your spouse was not, cross-chargeability may make you current far sooner. Each of these deserves careful, case-specific review.
How to use this tool
Enter your category, country of chargeability, and priority date into the calculator. The tool compares your date against years of Visa Bulletin data and projects when it may become current, generating optimistic, median, and pessimistic estimates from historical movement rates. Treat these as planning estimates, not promises — the official Visa Bulletin each month is the only authoritative source for your real status.
How country of birth changes the wait
The single biggest factor in when your date becomes current is your country of chargeability. Because each country is limited to roughly 7% of the annual employment-based numbers, high-demand countries like India and China form long queues while most other countries stay current or nearly so. The July 2026 snapshot below makes the disparity concrete: across EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3, Rest of World, Mexico, and the Philippines are current or recent, while India and China sit years back — and EB-2 India is Unavailable entirely.
| Category | Rest of World | China | India | Mexico | Philippines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EB-1 | C | 01 Jun 2023 | 15 Oct 2022 | C | C |
| EB-2 | C | 01 Sep 2021 | U | C | C |
| EB-3 | 01 Aug 2024 | 22 Dec 2021 | 01 Jan 2014 | 01 Aug 2024 | 01 Aug 2023 |
Checking your status each month
Getting into a monthly routine keeps you from missing an opening. Around the middle of each month, the new Visa Bulletin is posted at travel.state.gov. Shortly after, USCIS posts its Adjustment of Status Filing Charts page announcing whether applicants inside the U.S. may use Dates for Filing or Final Action Dates. Read both together: the bulletin tells you the cutoff dates, and the USCIS page tells you which chart governs filing that month. Compare your priority date to the correct cell, and note whether the date advanced, held steady, retrogressed, or went Unavailable compared to last month.
Common mistakes about being 'current'
A few errors recur. People assume that if their date was current last month it stays current — but dates can retrogress or go 'U' the next month. Others compare their date to the wrong chart, thinking they can file under Dates for Filing when USCIS only authorized Final Action Dates that month. Some use their citizenship instead of their country of birth for the column, or forget that a spouse's birth country might allow cross-chargeability to a faster line. And many wait to prepare documents until they are current, then scramble and miss a narrow window before retrogression.
Frequently asked questions
Does becoming current guarantee approval? No — it unlocks the next step, but USCIS still adjudicates eligibility, background checks, and admissibility. If my date is current, must I file immediately? Not legally, but filing promptly protects you, because a filed I-485 survives later retrogression while an unfiled case does not. Can my date become current, then not current, then current again? Yes; this back-and-forth is common in backlogged categories. Where is the authoritative source? The monthly Visa Bulletin plus the USCIS filing-chart announcement — this tool provides estimates, not official determinations.
Priority date, receipt date, and approval date — don't confuse them
Three dates appear on your paperwork, and only one matters for the Visa Bulletin. Your priority date is your place in line (the PERM filing date, or the I-140 receipt date for categories without PERM). Your receipt date is simply when USCIS logged a particular form. Your approval date is when a petition was approved. When you compare against the Visa Bulletin, you always use your priority date — never the receipt or approval date. Your I-140 approval notice (Form I-797) states your priority date explicitly, so keep that document handy and use the date printed there.
Derivatives: your spouse and children
When your priority date becomes current, your immediate family can generally immigrate with you as derivatives — your spouse and unmarried children under 21. They share your priority date and category. Two wrinkles matter: first, cross-chargeability may let your household use a spouse's more favorable country of birth; second, the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) can, in some cases, 'freeze' a child's age so that a child who turns 21 during a long wait may still qualify. Because CSPA math is technical and fact-specific, families with children approaching 21 should get individualized advice well before the date becomes current.
This guide is for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. For questions about your specific case, consult a qualified immigration attorney.
Check your priority date estimateLive timeline data
See current Final Action Dates, 12-month movement, and forward estimates for every category and country: