December 2025 Visa Bulletin Released: What Employers Need to Know

The Department of State released the December 2025 Visa Bulletin and USCIS will continue to accept employment-based Adjustment of Status applications based on the Dates for Filing chart. For December 2025, all categories will remain unchanged under the Dates for Filing chart with the exception of EB-5 China (Unreserved), which will advance by approximately three weeks. Notably, the Final Action Dates chart will advance approximately 2 weeks to 2 months depending on the specific employment-based category, which may allow for the issuance of green cards or immigrant visas for previously filed applications.

EMPLOYMENT-BASED (EB) PRIORITY DATE SUMMARY FOR DATES FOR FILING

USCIS confirmed that it will honor the Dates for Filing chart for purposes of eligibility to file an Adjustment of Status application. The Dates for Filing 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 will hold steady at May 15, 2023.
• EB-1 India will maintain a filing cutoff date of April 15, 2023.

EB-2, Second Preference Category

• EB-2 Worldwide (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Mexico, and Philippines) will hold steady at July 15, 2024.
• EB-2 China will maintain a filing cutoff of December 1, 2021.
• EB-2 India will remain at December 1, 2013.

EB-3, Third Preference Category (Professional and Skilled Workers)

• EB-3 Worldwide (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Mexico and Philippines) will remain unchanged at July 1, 2023.
• EB-3 China will maintain a filing cutoff of January 1, 2022.
• EB-3 India will hold steady at August 15, 2014.

Other Workers

• Other Workers (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Mexico and Philippines) will maintain a filing cutoff date of December 1, 2021.
• China and India will continue to remain at October 1, 2018 and August 15, 2014, respectively.

EB-5: Fifth Preference Category (Immigrant Investors)

• For the EB-5 Unreserved categories (C5, T5, I5, and R5), India will hold steady at April 1, 2022. China will advance by approximately three weeks to July 22, 2016. All other countries will remain 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 December Visa Bulletin, the Dates for Filing chart will continue to remain the same from last month aside from EB-5 China (Unreserved), which will advance by three weeks. Many employment-based categories will advance under the Final Action Dates chart from approximately 2 weeks to 2 months depending on the employment-based category, which will allow for additional Adjustment of Status applications to become eligible for approval. For employees abroad, the forward movement in the Final Action Dates reduces the wait time until immigrant visa interviews become available in some categories. Despite some advancement under the Final Action Dates chart, many categories remain significantly backlogged. Employers should continue to plan for long-term retention, immigration cost budgeting (including possible extensions), and potential changes in visa status as green card timing continues to remain uncertain.

For additional information, please contact your designated Gibney representative or email info@gibney.com.