Why GreenCardClock is adding a paid tier
Update, October 5, 2026: Since September 29, the three scenario dates on the Estimator need a $0.99 pass (up to 3 priority dates within 24 hours), the Day Pass or Pro. When we published this post on September 23, we listed them under "What stays free" and wrote "That is not changing." About a week later we changed it: traffic and our computing costs kept growing, and tips still did not come close to covering them. On the Estimator you can still enter your details and see the published Visa Bulletin cutoffs for your category for free, but the estimate for your priority date is no longer free. Bulletin alerts and the site's other tools are still free. The original post is kept below as published, with the lines that no longer hold marked.
GreenCardClock started free because the data is public, and the basic answer from it should not cost anyone money. (Update, October 5, 2026: since September 29 this no longer holds for the estimate for your priority date, which is paid. The published Visa Bulletin cutoffs on the Estimator are still free. See the update above.)
As more people found the site, the bills grew with them: servers, data storage, email delivery, and the tooling behind the analysis. We added a tip jar and asked people to chip in if the site had saved them time. People were generous, and it still did not cover the bills. Tips have never come close to covering them.
So we are adding Pro.
What stays free
The Estimator itself, with no run limit(since September 29, 2026, a free run shows the published Visa Bulletin cutoffs for your category but not the estimate for your priority date: see the update at the top of this post)The three scenario dates, on every run(no longer free since September 29, 2026: see the update at the top of this post)- Bulletin alerts, for everyone, including anyone who turns them on later
That is not changing. (Update, October 5, 2026: this did not hold for the first two items above, which changed on September 29. Bulletin alerts are still free for everyone. See the update at the top of this post.)
What is part of Pro
- The estimated number of people ahead of you, and where you stand in the queue
- The pending I-485 breakdown by priority date
- The switch between the total wait and the filed I-485 queue only
- Filed mode, for people who have already filed their I-485: the estimated wait for a visa number, and self-reported case milestones near their date
- PDF export
- The advanced sections behind the estimate
Which of them appear depends on your country and category.
What it costs
Pricing and what is included are on the pricing page, and subscriptions renew automatically until you cancel. If you do not want a subscription, a day pass opens the full analysis for up to five estimates within 24 hours, and it does not renew.
If you tipped before any of this existed
There is a founding supporter grant waiting for you, scaled to what you gave. Sign in with Google using the email you tipped from and it applies itself. If that email is not a Google account, or you tipped from a different address, contact us and we will move it across.
Data comes from USCIS, the State Department, and DOL OFLC. Estimates are based on historical trends, not guarantees. Not legal advice.