Green Card Stage Finder for Indians

Your current visa/status, EB green card category (EB-1/EB-2/EB-3), country of birth, whether PERM has been filed and approved, whether I-140 has been filed and approved, whether I-485 has been filed, whether you have EAD/Advance Parole, and optionally your priority date (month and year only). No receipt numbers, A-numbers, passport numbers, or dates of birth are collected.

Your priority date is the date your PERM labor certification was filed with the Department of Labor (for EB-2/EB-3), or the date your I-140 was filed (for EB-1). It determines your place in the green card queue. For Indian-born applicants in EB-2 and EB-3, the wait is often measured in years or decades because the per-country 7% cap limits how many visas India can use per year.

The State Department updates the visa bulletin monthly and the cutoff dates can move forward or backward (retrogress). A static website cannot reliably show live cutoff dates — showing outdated data could cause someone to file I-485 prematurely or miss a filing window. Always check the current bulletin at travel.state.gov for the authoritative Final Action Date and Dates for Filing for your EB category and country.

You can file I-485 if either the Final Action Date (Part A of the visa bulletin) is current for your category, OR if USCIS has authorized use of the Dates for Filing (Part B) chart. USCIS announces in its monthly Visa Bulletin Acceptance memo whether Part B can be used that month. Filing under Part B does not mean your green card will be approved — it means USCIS will accept the application and process it until your Final Action Date becomes current.

If your priority date retrogresses (moves backward in the visa bulletin) after I-485 filing, your case is put on hold — but it is not denied. Your EAD and Advance Parole remain renewable while I-485 is pending. You do not need to refile. When your priority date becomes current again, USCIS will resume adjudication.

Yes, under the AC21 portability rule (INA 204(j)), if your I-485 has been pending for 180 or more days, you may change to a same-or-similar job without affecting your green card case. If I-485 has not been filed yet, your approved I-140 remains valid and the priority date is preserved — but you will need a new employer to file a new PERM and I-140 to continue the process. Consult your immigration attorney before any job change.

Potentially. The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) may protect your child by subtracting the time the I-140 was pending from their age. However, for Indian applicants with long backlogs, CSPA may not provide enough protection. Your child must also take affirmative action to seek the visa within one year of visa availability. Discuss CSPA with your immigration attorney now — do not wait until your child is close to 21.

EB-2 requires an advanced degree (master's or higher, or bachelor's plus 5 years of progressive experience). EB-3 requires a bachelor's degree or at least 2 years of experience. For Indian-born applicants, both EB-2 and EB-3 have significant backlogs, but the relative cutoff dates fluctuate monthly. Some applicants file for both categories simultaneously or file an EB-3 downgrade from EB-2. The right strategy depends on your priority date and current visa bulletin movement.