The Department of State released the September 2025 Visa Bulletin. USCIS will continue to accept employment-based Adjustment of Status applications based on the Final Action Dates chart. All Employment-Based Categories will remain unchanged under Final Action Dates for September. The Dept. of State has indicated that annual limits will be reached in most employment-based categories in August and September due to a steady increase in demand at both USCIS and the Dept. of State.
EMPLOYMENT-BASED (EB) PRIORITY DATE SUMMARY FOR FINAL ACTION DATES
USCIS confirmed that it will honor the Final Action Dates chart for purposes of eligibility to file an Adjustment of Status application. The Final Action Dates are as follows:
EB-1, First Preference Category
- EB-1 Worldwide (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Mexico, and Philippines) will remain current.
- EB-1 China: Final Action Dates will maintain a filing cutoff date of November 15,
- EB-1 India: Final Action Dates will hold steady at February 15, 2022
EB-2, Second Preference Category
- EB-2 Worldwide (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Mexico, and Philippines) will maintain a filing cutoff date of September 1, 2023.
- China: Final Action Dates will hold steady at December 15, 2020.
- India: Final Action dates will remain at January 1, 2013.
EB-3, Third Preference Category (Professional and Skilled Workers)
- EB-3 Worldwide (including El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico) will maintain a filing cutoff date of April 1, 2023.
- Philippines: Final Action Dates will remain at February 8, 2023.
- China: Final Action Dates will hold steady at December 1, 2020.
- India: Final Action Dates will remain at May 22, 2013.
Other Workers
- Worldwide (including El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Philippines) will maintain a filing cutoff date of July 8, 2021.
- China: Final Action Dates will remain at May 1, 2017.
- India: Final Action Dates will hold steady at May 22, 2013.
EB-5: Fifth Preference Category (Immigrant Investors)
- For the EB-5 Unreserved categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5), India will maintain a filing cutoff date of November 15, 2019 and China will remain at December 8, 2015. All other countries will continue to be current.
- The EB-5 “Set-Aside” categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure) will remain current.
Individuals with a priority date that is before the published cut-off date may file an Adjustment of Status application based on the dates outlined above.
WHAT SHOULD EMPLOYERS EXPECT?
As noted in the September Visa Bulletin, due to a steady increase for employment-based visas during the fiscal year, the Dept. of State notes that numerical limits to most employment-based preference categories for FY 2025 are expected to be reached in August and September. If an employment-based category becomes “unavailable”, the application will not be decided on until a visa number becomes available. The new fiscal year will commence on October 1, 2025, which will reset annual numerical limits across employment-based categories.
As unavailability may be imminent particularly for EB-2, EB-3 and EB-5 categories as reported in the August Visa Bulletin, Employers are advised to file Adjustment of Status applications for eligible applicants as soon as possible as most employment-based categories are expected to reach their numerical limits in the near future.
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