The Department of State has released the January 2025 Visa Bulletin, providing an overview of the immigrant visas available in January 2025. The bulletin includes two charts: the Final Action Dates chart and the Dates for Filing chart, applicable to both Employment-Based and Family-Based immigrant visas. Each month, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirms which chart applicants physically present in the United States, and filing for Adjustment of Status (AOS), must use. For January 2025, USCIS has confirmed that applicants may use the Dates for Filing chart for both Family-Based and Employment-Based cases.

Below, we break down the movements observed in the January 2025 Visa Bulletin.

Employment-Based (EB) Preference Categories

The January 2025 Visa Bulletin shows a modest advancement in some categories, including EB-2 and EB-3. We continue to observe small advancements during the fiscal year 2025, as opposed to significant progress at the beginning of the fiscal year. This may indicate improved communication between the State Department and USCIS, aiming to address the backlog of cases created by the global pandemic. USCIS has confirmed that applicants may use the Dates for Filing chart to file their Adjustment of Status applications, which remains unchanged from the December and October 2024 Visa Bulletins.

In the first preference category (EB-1, Priority Workers), remains the same as the December 2024 visa bulletin. The cutoff date for China will remain November 8, 2022, while the cutoff date for EB-1 India will stay at February 1, 2022. All other countries will continue to be current. Under the Date for Filing Chart, the cutoff date for applicants from China to file their AOS applications will remain January 1, 2023, and for India, it will remain April 15, 2022.

In the second preference category (EB-2, Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or Persons of Exceptional Ability), we see advancements across the board for everyone. The cutoff date for India will advance by two months, to October 1, 2012. The cutoff date for EB-2 China will advance by one month, to April 22, 2020. For the rest of the world, the dates will advance by two weeks, to April 1, 2023. Under the Date for Filing Chart, applicants may file their AOS applications as per the following: for India, the cutoff date will remain January 1, 2013; for China, it will remain October 1, 2020; and for the rest of the world, it will remain August 1, 2023.

In the third preference category (EB-3, Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Other Workers), under the Final Action Date Chart, once again we see advancement across the board. The cutoff date for India will advance by three weeks, to December 1, 2012. The cutoff date for China will advance by two months, to June 1, 2020. For the rest of the world, the dates will advance by two weeks, to December 1, 2022. Under the Date for Filing Chart for EB-3, the cutoff date for India will remain June 8, 2013; for China, it will stay at November 15, 2020; and for the rest of the world, it will remain March 1, 2023.

In the fourth preference category (EB-4, Minister and Non-Minister Religious Workers Program), the cutoff date will remain January 1, 2021. Under the Date for Filing Chart, the cutoff date will stay at February 1, 2021. The EB-4 Non-Minister Worker program is set to expire on December 20, 2024. If Congress does not extend the program, the category will become “unavailable” as of December 20. As a result, starting December 20, the State Department will no longer issue immigrant visas, and USCIS will not approve any pending adjustment of status applications until Congress passes reauthorization legislation.

In the fifth and final preference category (EB-5, Investors), the dates remain the same as in the December Visa Bulletin. For the EB-5 Unreserved categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5), the cutoff date for India will stay at January 1, 2022, and for China, it will remain July 15, 2016. All other countries will continue to be current. The EB-5 set-aside categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure) will also remain current. Under the Date for Filing Chart for the EB-5 Unreserved categories, the cutoff date for China will stay at October 1, 2016, and for India, it will remain April 1, 2022, with all other countries current. The EB-5 set-aside categories will also continue to be current.

Family-Based Preference Categories

In the Family-Based Preference category, we also see some advancement in certain categories as described below. In the Final Action Date chart for the F1 category (Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens), the date for Mexico will remain November 22, 2004. For the Philippines, the dates will advance by one week to, March 8, 2012. For the rest of the world, the date will advance by one month, to November 22, 2015.

In the F2A category (Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents), the cutoff date for Mexico will advance by one month, to May 15, 2021. While for the rest of the world, the dates will remain at January 1, 2022, in the Final Action Date chart. In the F2B category (Unmarried Sons and Daughters, 21 years of age or older, of Permanent Residents), we see some advancements. The date for Mexico will remain July 1, 2005, and for the Philippines, it will stay at October 22, 2011. For the rest of the world, the date will advance by 21 days, to May 22, 2016.

In the F3 category (Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens), in the Final Action Date chart, we see advancement across the board. For Mexico, the dates will advance by one month, to November 22, 2000. For the Philippines, the date will also advance by one month, to November 8, 2002. For India and the rest of the world, the date will advance by two months and two weeks, to July 1, 2010.

In the F4 category (Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens) in the Final Action Date chart, the dates will advance for India and the Philippines. For Mexico, the cutoff date will remain March 1, 2001. For the rest of the world, it will continue to hold steady, at August 1, 2007. For the Philippines, the dates will advance by one month, to May 1, 2004. For India, the dates will advance by one month as well, to April 8, 2006.

We continue to monitor and report predictions and movements in the monthly Visa Bulletin. If you have any questions about your priority date, the January 2025 Visa Bulletin, or any other U.S. immigration-related question, please feel free to contact us. With our extensive experience and knowledge, we are committed to providing you with the right advice for your specific situation.

Visa Bulletin