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Green Card Priority Date Wait Estimator
Waiting on a green card? This free green card calculator estimates your priority date wait from assumptions you control: your category, country of chargeability, priority date, the assumed Visa Bulletin cutoff, and how fast you assume the bulletin moves each month. It reports the backlog ahead of you and a rough wait in years and months. It is a simplified planning estimate only, not a prediction and not legal advice. Always verify against the official Visa Bulletin at travel.state.gov.
How to use
- Select your green card category and country of chargeability.
- Enter your priority date from your I-797 approval notice.
- Enter the assumed current cutoff date and monthly bulletin movement.
- Click Estimate Wait and read the rough estimate plus the disclaimer.
Worked example
Suppose you are in EB-2 with chargeability India, a priority date of January 1, 2015, an assumed cutoff of January 1, 2014, and assumed movement of 60 days per month. The backlog is about 365 days of cutoff movement, so the rough estimate is 365 divided by 60, or about 6 months.
Change the movement assumption to 20 days per month and the same backlog becomes about 18 months. That spread shows why the movement assumption matters more than any other input, and why running best and worst cases is smart planning.
Reading the Visa Bulletin
Each month the State Department publishes two charts per category: Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing. A category marked C means Current, with no backlog at all. A category marked U means Unavailable, with numbers used up for the fiscal year, and it often reopens around October 1.
USCIS announces each month which chart you may use to file. Always confirm on travel.state.gov before acting, because third party summaries sometimes disagree on the exact cutoff.
Frequently asked questions
What is a priority date and where do I find mine?
A priority date is your place in the green card line. For employment cases it is usually the date your PERM labor certification was filed, and for family cases it is the date USCIS received your petition. You can find it on your I-797 approval or receipt notice.
What is the difference between Final Action and Dates for Filing?
Final Action Dates control when USCIS or the consulate can actually approve your green card. Dates for Filing control when you are allowed to submit your application, and they are usually ahead of Final Action Dates. That is why you can sometimes file months before your case can be approved.
How is the wait estimated?
The calculator measures the gap between your priority date and the assumed cutoff date in days, then divides by your assumed monthly movement. If 900 days of backlog move at 60 days per month, the rough estimate is 15 months. Real bulletin movement is uneven, so treat this as a scenario, not a forecast.
What monthly movement should I assume?
Look at how the cutoff for your category and country moved over the last 12 months in the Visa Bulletin and take an average. Conservative planners use a slower number, since bulletins often stall or retrogress. Rerun the estimate with fast, average, and slow assumptions to see the range.
What is retrogression?
Retrogression is when a cutoff date moves backward instead of forward, usually because visa numbers for the year are running out. It can turn a date that looked current into a waiting date again. This is the main reason estimates based on steady movement can be wrong.
Can the wait get longer than estimated?
Yes. Cutoff dates can retrogress, visa numbers can be exhausted before the fiscal year ends, and policy changes happen. This tool cannot predict any of that, which is why the official Visa Bulletin is the only authoritative source.
Is this legal advice?
No. This tool gives a rough, simplified estimate for planning purposes only. It is not legal advice. For your specific case, check the official Visa Bulletin at travel.state.gov and consider consulting an immigration attorney.