Priority date

In plain terms: the priority date is the worker’s place in line for an EB-3 green card. In PERM cases, it’s the date DOL receives the PERM application.

Because only a limited number of EB-3 green cards are issued each year, workers wait in line by priority date. The earlier the date, the sooner the worker reaches the front of the line.

What it means for you: the priority date matters in two ways. The worker can’t receive the green card until their priority date is current in the Visa Bulletin. And the employer must be able to show it can pay the offered wage starting from the priority date until the worker gets the green card.

Priority date retention

In plain terms: priority date retention means a worker who already has an approved I-140 petition, from any employer, keeps that earlier priority date when a new employer sponsors them. It’s also called porting or recapturing the priority date.

With an earlier priority date, the worker is further ahead in line. The worker can reach the front of the Visa Bulletin line sooner, receive the green card sooner and start work for the new employer earlier than workers with newer priority dates.

The new employer still completes every step for its own job: the prevailing wage, local recruitment, the PERM application and a new I-140 petition. The earlier priority date applies once the new I-140 is approved, and it shortens only the Visa Bulletin wait at the end of the process.

Priority date retention applies only when the earlier I-140 was approved, not just filed. The earlier priority date is lost if USCIS revoked that approval because of fraud, willful misrepresentation or a material error, or if the labor certification behind it was revoked or invalidated.

Example: a worker has an approved I-140 from a previous employer with a 2021 priority date. A new employer files its own PERM for the worker in 2026. Once the new employer’s I-140 is approved, the worker keeps the 2021 priority date instead of starting over with a 2026 date.