By: Dawn Lurie, Mahsa Aliaskari, and Brooke Gary
Along with the New Year, January 1st also marks the implementation of a new Visa Bulletin by the U.S. Department of State.
Each month, the United States Immigration and Citizenship Services (USCIS) chooses whether it will follow the Dates for Filing Visa Applications chart or the Application Final Action Dates chart to determine when an employment-based and family-sponsored Adjustment of Status (AOS) application can be filed. An applicant’s priority date must be current in whichever chart USCIS is using in a given month to be eligible to file their application that month. See our prior blog for an explanation on priority dates and Final Action Date chart vs. Dates of Filing chart.
For January 2025, USCIS announced that it will follow the Dates for Filing chart for employment-based and family-sponsored preference categories – as shown below. This means that those with current priority dates listed in the Dates for Filing chart are eligible to submit their AOS application from January 1, 2025 to January 31, 2025, and encouraged to complete the filings promptly, and before the end of the month.
| Employment- Based | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed |
China- Mainland Born |
India | Mexico | Philippines |
| 1st | C | 01JAN23 | 15APR22 | C | C |
| 2nd | 01AUG23 | 01OCT20 | 01JAN13 | 01AUG23 | 01AUG23 |
| 3rd | 01MAR23 | 15NOV20 | 08JUN13 | 01MAR23 | 01MAR23 |
| Other Workers | 22MAY21 | 01JAN18 | 08JUN13 | 22MAY21 | 22MAY21 |
| 4th | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 | 01FEB21 |
Below, we provide key details and takeaways from the updated visa bulletin.
Key Takeaways for Employers and Applicants
- USCIS will follow the Dates for Filing chart.
- The priority dates across all categories in the Dates for Filing Chart remain the same in January as last month.
- The Final Action Dates show some advancement for EB-2 and EB-3 for certain countries/categories, as outlined below.
Final Action Date Charts Analysis
Final action dates show slight advancement for EB-2 and EB-3 for some countries and categories, reflecting a change in the date when USCIS or the Department of State (DOS) may adjudicate and issue a final decision on an immigrant visa application or approval of an adjustment of status application. More specifically:
EB-1 – No Change: The category for first preference workers, including multinational executives and those with extraordinary abilities, remains current for most countries and with no change for India and China.
EB-2 – Advancements: India advances by two months to October 1, 2012 and China advances by one month to April 22, 2020. All other countries will advance by two weeks to April 1, 2023.
EB-3 – Advancements: India advances by three weeks to December 1, 2012. China advances by two months to June 1, 2020. All other countries advance by two weeks to December 1, 2022.
Other Workers Category – Advancements: India advances by three weeks to December 1, 2012. China remains the same at January 1, 2017. All other countries advance by one week to December 8, 2020.
EB-5 – No Change. In the EB-5 Unreserved categories, China remains at July 15, 2016, and India remains at January 1, 2022. All other countries and the set-aside categories (Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure) also remain current.
Implications and Looking Ahead
The January 2025 Visa Bulletin provides both opportunities and continued challenges for employment-based immigration. USCIS’ acceptance of the Dates for Filing chart for Adjustment of Status filings offers a welcomed window of opportunity for many applicants to secure travel and work authorization documents based on the submission of the Adjustment of Status Application.
The January 2025 Visa Bulletin also shows little retrogression and slight advancements in final action dates for EB-2 and EB-3 for some countries and categories. While this is a positive sign, the overall waiting period remains lengthy and these prolonged wait times continue to challenge employers seeking to retain top talent.
The Bulletin reports on the rising approvals of I-526E petitions and increased application completions in EB-5 set-aside categories. To ensure annual limits are not exceeded DOS may introduce Dates for Filing and Final Action Dates. DOS states that the situation will be monitored, and adjustments made as necessary.
The February 2025 visa bulletin is expected to be released sometime in mid-late January.
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