May 2025 Visa Bulletin
The May 2025 Visa Bulletin is out now. According to the U.S. Department of State’s May Visa Bulletin, the Final Action cutoff dates for immigrant visa issuance and adjustment of status applications for Employment-based categories are as follows:
EB-1 Category
- There is no change in the dates for India & China compared with the April 2025 Bulletin. For India, the date is February 15, 2022, and for China, it is November 8, 2022
-
Dates for all other countries remain current.
EB-2 Category
- We notice a similar pattern to the EB-1 Category for India and China, as the dates remain unchanged compared to April 2025. The dates for India and China are January 1, 2013, and October 1, 2020, respectively.
- It’s worth noting that the dates for all other countries in the EB-2 category remain unchanged, at June 22, 2023, similar to the April dates.
EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Worker Category
- There’s reason for optimism as the EB-3 dates for India have advanced by 2 weeks compared to the April Bulletin. The current bulletin sets the date at April 15, 2023.
- On the other hand, the dates of China and all other countries remain the same as in the April bulletin. China remains on November 1, 2020, and for all other countries it is January 1, 2023
EB-5 Unreserved Categories
- India faces a six-month setback as the dates for this category in India have retrogressed compared to the dates in the April bulletin, to May 1, 2019 for the EB-5 category.
- On the other hand, the dates for China have remained the same as in the April 2025 bulletin: January 22, 2014. For other countries, the date remains January 1, 2023.
Overview of the dates for the Employment-based Category
|
Final Action Date table |
|||||
| 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 | 15APR13 | 01JAN23 | 01JAN23 |
| Other Workers | 22MAY21 | 01APR17 | 15APR13 | 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 | 01May19 | 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 |
|||||
| 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 |
Overview of the dates for the Family-based Category
|
Final Action Date table |
|||||
| Family- Sponsored |
All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed |
CHINA-mainland born |
INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | 15MAR16 | 15MAR16 | 15MAR16 | 22APR05 | 15JUL12 |
| F2A | 01JAN22 | 01JAN22 | 01JAN22 | 15MAY21 | 01JAN22 |
| F2B | 22JUL16 | 22JUL16 | 22JUL16 | 01JAN06 | 08FEB12 |
| F3 | 01APR11 | 01APR11 | 01APR11 | 15JAN01 | 22SEP03 |
| F4 | 01JAN08 | 01JAN08 | 15JUN06 | 15MAR01 | 01JAN05 |
|
Dates for Filing Table |
|||||
| 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 |
Diversity Immigrant (DV) Category for May 2025
| Region | All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately |
|
|---|---|---|
| AFRICA | 35,000 | Except: Algeria 34,500 Egypt 32,500 Morocco 30,000 |
| ASIA | 6,500 | Except: Iran 6,450 Nepal 6,450 |
| EUROPE | 16,000 | Except: Russia 15,950 Uzbekistan 9,000 |
| NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) | 20 | C |
| OCEANIA | 1,550 | C |
| SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN |
2,250 |
Diversity Immigrant (DV) Category Rank Cut-offs, which will apply in June, 2025
| Region | All DV Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed Separately |
|
|---|---|---|
| AFRICA | 42,500 | Except: Algeria 42,250 Egypt 36,250 Morocco 30,000 |
| ASIA | 8,250 | Except: Iran 8,000 Nepal 8,000 |
| EUROPE | 17,500 | Except: Russia 17,750 Uzbekistan 10,250 |
| NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS) | 20 | C |
| OCEANIA | 1,550 | C |
| SOUTH AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN |
2,300 |
Predictions for the June 2025 Visa Bulletin
- As we can already see, demand will continue to rise in all employment-based categories in the coming months.
- Due to the rising demand, we can only expect some forward movement in the EB-3 Category, but not much in the EB-2 category.
- We can also expect some retrogression or unavailability in the EB-2 category in the coming months, as we approach September and October.
- Unless some legislative action is taken in the Indian context for the EB-2 Category, the movement seems bleak in the coming months and years.
** The content above is provided for informational purposes only. It should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. Use of this information does not create an attorney-client relationship. For Legal Advice, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
