Thanks to Mike for suggesting this question.
These two dates really have nothing much to do with each other. The priority date is a delay that is written into the law. It determines when you are eligible to file an application for an immigrant visa or for adjustment of status.
The USCIS date tells you when they are actually processing a petition (the form I-130).
So let's say that you filed a petition on March 7, 1997. In that case, you would have a priority date of 1997. Because USCIS is processing I-130s from 1998, you would probably already have an approved I-130 in your hands. But you would still be waiting quite a few years. Just put the approved I-130 into a bank vault or some other safe place. As soon as the current priority date has advanced past March 7, 1997, you are eligible to actually use the I-130 - until that day, it is just a meaningless piece of paper.
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