The April 2025 Visa Bulletin is out now. Let’s look at the key takeaways from the same.
- EB-1 India Advances: By two weeks to February 15, 2022, China remained unchanged on November 8, 2022. All other countries stay current.
- India advanced by one month to Jan 1, 2013, and China jumped by nearly five months in the EB-2 Category. The world moves forward by five weeks to June 22, 2023.
- If we look at the EB3 category, India moved forward by two months to April 1, 2013, whereas China’s date advanced by three months to November 1, 2020. On the other hand, the rest of the world’s data has been retrogressed to January 1, 2023.
- The EB5 Category has seen a much broader retrogression. The dates for China have retrogressed by over two years to January 22, 2014, whereas for India, we notice a similar retrogression and now has moved to November 1, 2019.
- If we look at the dates for the rest of the world for the EB5 Category, it remains current, and the same is true for the EB5 Set aside categories for all countries.
Quick Snapshot of movement of final action dates |
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| Category | March 2025 | April 2025 | Movement |
| EB-1 India | Feb 1, 2022 | Feb 15, 2022 | +2 Weeks |
| EB-1 China | Nov 8, 2022 | Nov 8, 2022 | No Change |
| EB-1 Rest of World | Current | Current | No Change |
| EB-2 India | Dec 1, 2012 | Jan 1, 2013 | +1 Month |
| EB-2 China | May 8, 2020 | Oct 1,2020 | +5 Months |
| EB-2 Rest of World | May 15, 2023 | Jun22,2023 | +5 Weeks |
| EB-3 India | Feb 1, 2013 | Apr1,2013 | +2 Months |
| EB-3 China | Aug 1, 2020 | Nov 1, 2020 | +3 Months |
| EB-3 Rest of World | Dec 1, 2022 | Jan 1, 2023 | +1 Month |
| EB-5 (Unreserved) China | Apr 22,2016 | Jan 22, 2014 | Retrogression 2 Yrs, 3 Months |
| EB-5 (Unreserved) India | Dec 1, 2022 | Nov 1, 2019 | Retrogression 2 Yrs |
| EB-5 ( Unreserved) Rest of World | Current | Current | No Change |
| EB-5 Set-Asides ( Rural, High Unemployment, Infrastructure) | Current | Current | No Change |
Key Points to note:
Next month, USCIS will accept employment-based adjustment of status applications from foreign nationals with a priority date earlier than the Final Action Dates listed in the April Visa Bulletin. Dates for Filing Will be considered for family-based adjustment of status applications
Here are the complete charts for different date tables
Family-based Green Categories
|
Final Action Date table |
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| Family- Sponsored |
All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed |
CHINA-mainland born |
INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | 15MAR16 | 15MAR16 | 15MAR16 | 01JAN05 | 15JUL12 |
| F2A | 01JAN22 | 01JAN22 | 01JAN22 | 15MAY21 | 01JAN22 |
| F2B | 22JUL16 | 22JUL16 | 22JUL16 | 01JAN06 | 22JAN12 |
| F3 | 01APR11 | 01APR11 | 01APR11 | 15JAN01 | 22MAR03 |
| F4 | 01AUG07 | 01AUG07 | 15JUN06 | 15MAR01 | 01JAN05 |
|
Dates for Filing table |
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| Family- Sponsored |
All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed |
CHINA- mainland born |
INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | 01SEP17 | 01SEP17 | 01SEP17 | 01APR06 | 22APR15 |
| F2A | 15OCT24 | 15OCT24 | 15OCT24 | 15OCT24 | 15OCT24 |
| F2B | 01JAN17 | 01JAN17 | 01JAN17 | 01APR07 | 01OCT13 |
| F3 | 22JUL12 | 22JUL12 | 22JUL12 | 15JUN01 | 22SEP04 |
| F4 | 01APR08 | 01APR08 | 01OCT06 | 30APR01 | 01JAN08 |
Employment-based Green Card Categories
|
Final Action Date table |
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| Employment- based |
All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed |
CHINA- mainland born |
INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| 1st | C | 08NOV22 | 15FEB22 | C | C |
| 2nd | 22JUN23 | 01OCT20 | 01JAN13 | 22JUN23 | 22JUN23 |
| 3rd | 01JAN23 | 01NOV20 | 01APR13 | 01JAN23 | 01JAN23 |
| Other Workers | 22MAY21 | 01APR17 | 01APR13 | 22MAY21 | 22MAY21 |
| 4th | U | U | U | U | U |
| Certain Religious Workers | U | U | U | U | U |
| 5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5, NU, RU) |
C | 22JAN14 | 01NOV19 | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: Rural (20%, including NR, RR) |
C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: High Unemployment (10%, including NH, RH) |
C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: Infrastructure (2%, including RI) |
C | C | C | C | C |
|
Dates for filing table |
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| Employment- based |
All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed |
CHINA- mainland born |
INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| 1st | C | 01JAN23 | 15APR22 | C | C |
| 2nd | 01AUG23 | 01NOV20 | 01FEB13 | 01AUG23 | 01AUG23 |
| 3rd | 01MAR23 | 15NOV20 | 08JUN13 | 01MAR23 | 01MAR23 |
| Other Workers | 22JUN21 | 01JAN18 | 08JUN13 | 22JUN21 | 22JUN21 |
| 4th | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 |
| Certain Religious Workers | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 |
| 5th Unreserved (including C5, T5, I5, R5) |
C | 01OCT16 | 01APR22 | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: (Rural: NR, RR – 20%) |
C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: (High Unemployment: NH, RH – 10%) |
C | C | C | C | C |
| 5th Set Aside: (Infrastructure: RI – 2%) |
C | C | C | C | C |
Diversity Immigrant ( DV) Category for April 2025 |
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| Region | All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately |
|
| AFRICA | 30,000 | Except: Algeria 29,950 Egypt 27,950 Morocco 27,950 |
| ASIA | 6,000 | Except: Iran 5,950 Nepal 5,950 |
| EUROPE | 16,000 | Except: Russia 15,950 Uzbekistan 7,750 |
| NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) | 20 | |
| OCEANIA | 1,500 | |
| SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN |
2,200 | |
What can we conclude?
- Positive Movement for EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3: India, China, and Rest of the World see forward movement in several key categories.
- Major Retrogression in EB-5: China and India face significant setbacks in the unreserved EB-5 category, possibly due to increased demand or backlog management.
- Rest of the World Generally Unaffected: Most non-backlogged countries remain current or see modest advancements
Predictions for the May 2025 Visa Bulletin
- EB-5 retrogression: The agency says that it may become necessary to establish a Final Action Date for Worldwide EB-5 applicants in the unreserved category if demand and number use continue to increase.
- EB-2 and EB-3: Predictions for the Visa Bulletin May 2025 depend on USCIS demand, per-country limits, and annual visa allocations. The demand in the EB categories remains high. We expect a modest forward movement in both EB-2 and EB-3 categories for May.
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