What is a priority date?

[saj102965 1]

I've been seeing this a lot lately on some forums and I would like to know what this is and what bearing it has on the issuance of a green card? Thank you.

[aleful 1,905]

I've been seeing this a lot lately on some forums and I would like to know what this is and what bearing it has on the issuance of a green card? Thank you.

it depend on who a person is filing for. children, siblings, LPR petitioning for spouses, labor certification

not every type of petition has a priority date.

when a petition takes a certain time, some years, there is a wait in line, they have to wait for the second part of the process. immigration goes by a visa bulletin, so when the priority date becomes available, that means they can file for the second part of the petition.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I've been seeing this a lot lately on some forums and I would like to know what this is and what bearing it has on the issuance of a green card? Thank you.

There are annual limits on the number of visas that can be issued in many visa categories. When those annual limits apply, there is also a per country limit of no more than 7% of the total allocation. In order to ration these visas properly, the Department of State places people in an imaginary line according to the date the visa petition was approved (the priority date), and the country the applicant lives in. Each month, they calculate how many visas they can issue from each country or group of countries in the coming month, and determine where that would place the marker in the line in terms of the priority date. That marker is called the cut-off date. When the cut-off date for a given month is LATER than your priority date, then you can apply for the visa.

Department of State issues a bulletin every month showing what the current cut-off date is for each visa category which is subject to the annual limits.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html

When demand for immigrant visas is high then the cut-off date may not change much from one month to the next, especially in countries that are oversubscribed (beyond the 7% limit). Right now, demand for immigrant visas is pretty low, so the cut-off date has been moving two or three months ahead every time a new visa bulletin is issued.

There are no annual limits on the number of visas for immediate relatives of US citizens - spouses, children, and parents. Many of the people in this sub-forum are adjusting status based on one of these categories, so they don't have a priority date. An immigrant visa is always immediately available for them.

[funkeleye 0]

I've been seeing this a lot lately on some forums and I would like to know what this is and what bearing it has on the issuance of a green card? Thank you.

Your Priority date is the date your Petition for Alien Relative (e.g.I-130) application is fully received by USCIS without errors, rejections or pending requests. It's at the top left corner of your Notice of Action Letter (I-797C) in a cell labeled Received Date.

This Priority Date should precede the cut-off date in the Visa Bulletin for your Preference Category. Then you can begin applying for a Visa Immigration Number/Adjustment of Status to permanent residency.

The Visa Bulletin is released every month, you can check the website below. If there is a surplus of Visa Numbers (this is marked as C-for Current in the bulletin), you'll be able to apply straight away without having to wait for the cut-off date.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html

or phone (area code 202) 663-1541 for the recorded message.

This is what I know according to applying for a spouse, the forms might be different for others but the Visa Number and Bulletin information applies to most. American Citizens applying for their spouses need not wait for cut-off dates.

[saj102965 1]

Thank you so much for the information. I just wanted to make sure this wasn't going to affect me when I file this weekend. I am the US citizen and my husband is in the US and we are filing for adjustment of status.