Each month, the United States Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs releases a Visa Bulletin that outlines the availability of immigrant visa numbers. This bulletin includes two essential charts: “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications.” These charts help applicants determine when they can take the next step in their immigration process based on their priority date—the date on which their petition was originally filed. For May 2025, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has directed family-sponsored applicants to use the “Dates for Filing” chart, while employment-based applicants must follow the “Final Action Dates” chart.
The May 2025 Visa Bulletin provides specific filing and final action dates for various family- and employment-based categories, segmented by country. In the family-sponsored category, the F2A preference for spouses and unmarried children under 21 of permanent residents is current for all countries with a Dates for Filing cut-off of February 1, 2025. In the employment-based categories, the EB-1 category is current for most countries, except for China (mainland born) and India, with cut-off dates of November 8, 2022, and February 15, 2022, respectively. EB-2 and EB-3 categories also show varying cut-off dates, reflecting processing backlogs in specific regions.
Significant updates in the May 2025 bulletin include an advancement of the EB-3 Final Action Date for India by two weeks to April 15, 2013, and a retrogression of the EB-5 unreserved category Final Action Date for India by six months to May 1, 2019. These changes may affect applicants preparing to file for Adjustment of Status (AOS) or awaiting visa issuance. Importantly, USCIS has confirmed that in June 2025, it will accept AOS applications from employment-based applicants with priority dates earlier than those listed under the Final Action Dates in the May 2025 bulletin.
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Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin | USCIS
