Family Petitions and your Priority Date

Do you have an approved I-130 petition and are wondering how much longer until you can apply for your green card? Here’s how to check.

The Visa Bulletin is a monthly update provided by the U.S. Department of State that helps people understand how long it will take for them to get their U.S. immigrant visa or Green Card. One of the key pieces of information in the Visa Bulletin is the priority date, which is the date when your I-130 was filed. You can find this date on your I-130 receipt or approval notice. The visa bulletin is found at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html.

Under the filing family-sponsored chart, locate your I-130 category, which is also on your receipt notice. Follow the column for your country, if listed, or otherwise use the first column. Compare your priority date with the date on the visa bulletin for your category and country. Cases with priority dates before the date listed on the visa bulletin are eligible to the next step in the immigration process. Routinely reviewing the visa bulletin will give you an idea of how your priority date is progressing. If you have questions, please contact us.