April 2025 Visa Bulletin
Data verified August 24, 2026
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What changed in the April 2025 bulletin
- F3 All other countries · China · IndiaLargest since 2015The same move for all other chargeability areas, China, and India.
- F2B MexicoCutoff now January 1, 2006.
- F1 the PhilippinesCutoff now July 15, 2012.
- F1 All other countries · China · IndiaThe same move for all other chargeability areas, China, and India.
- F2B the PhilippinesCutoff now January 22, 2012.
- F4 the PhilippinesCutoff now January 1, 2005.
- F4 IndiaLargest since 2021Cutoff now June 15, 2006.
- F2B All other countries · China · IndiaThe same move for all other chargeability areas, China, and India.
- F3 the PhilippinesCutoff now March 22, 2003.
- F3 MexicoCutoff now January 15, 2001.
- F1 MexicoCutoff now January 1, 2005.
- F4 MexicoCutoff now March 15, 2001.
- EB4 All countriesNo visa numbers authorized in this bulletin.
- EB4 Religious Workers All countriesNo visa numbers authorized in this bulletin.
- EB5 ChinaCutoff now January 22, 2014.
- EB5 IndiaCutoff now November 1, 2019.
- EB2 ChinaLargest since 2021Cutoff now October 1, 2020.
- EB3 Other Workers the PhilippinesCutoff now May 22, 2021.
- EB3 Other Workers All other countries · MexicoThe same move for all other chargeability areas and Mexico.
- EB3 ChinaCutoff now November 1, 2020.
- EB3 Other Workers ChinaCutoff now April 1, 2017.
- EB3 IndiaCutoff now April 1, 2013.
- EB3 Other Workers IndiaCutoff now April 1, 2013.
- EB2 All other countries · Mexico · the PhilippinesThe same move for all other chargeability areas, Mexico, and the Philippines.
- EB2 IndiaCutoff now January 1, 2013.
- EB3 All other countries · Mexico · the PhilippinesThe same move for all other chargeability areas, Mexico, and the Philippines.
- EB1 IndiaCutoff now February 15, 2022.
In brief
- 62 of 150 cutoff entries moved; 2 retrogressed.
- Largest move: EB4 for all countries, became Unavailable.
- Final action dates moved in 4 family-sponsored categories and 7 employment-based categories.
- 1 category set a single-bulletin record in our archive (since Oct 2015): F3.
The April 2025 bulletin’s biggest family move: F3 for all other chargeability areas, China, and India advance 9 months. 2 other family categories hold unchanged. On the employment side, EB4 for all countries become Unavailable.
Read the full breakdown of the April 2025 bulletin
For F3 (all other chargeability areas, China, and India), this is the largest single-bulletin F3 advance in our archive (since Oct 2015). For EB2 (China), this is the largest single-bulletin EB2 advance since 2021. For F4 (India), this is the largest single-bulletin F4 advance since 2021.
| Category | All Areas | China-mainland born | India | Mexico | Philippines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens | Sep 1, 2017no change | Sep 1, 2017no change | Sep 1, 2017no change | Apr 1, 2006advanced 6 months | Apr 22, 2015no change |
| F2ASpouses and Children of Permanent Residents | Oct 15, 2024advanced 3 months | Oct 15, 2024advanced 3 months | Oct 15, 2024advanced 3 months | Oct 15, 2024advanced 3 months | Oct 15, 2024advanced 3 months |
| F2BUnmarried Sons and Daughters (21+) of Permanent Residents | Jan 1, 2017no change | Jan 1, 2017no change | Jan 1, 2017no change | Apr 1, 2007advanced 6 months | Oct 1, 2013no change |
| F3Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens | Jul 22, 2012no change | Jul 22, 2012no change | Jul 22, 2012no change | Jun 15, 2001no change | Sep 22, 2004advanced 5 months |
| F4Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens | Apr 1, 2008advanced 4 weeks | Apr 1, 2008advanced 4 weeks | Oct 1, 2006advanced 7 weeks | Apr 30, 2001no change | Jan 1, 2008no change |
From the Department’s notes for April 2025
4 sections, reproduced verbatim from the U.S. Department of State’s April 2025 Visa Bulletin. The Department’s words, not ours.
A. STATUTORY NUMBERS FOR PREFERENCE IMMIGRANT VISAS
This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during April for: “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center.
Unless otherwise indicated on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website at www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo , individuals seeking to file applications for adjustment of status with USCIS must use the “Final Action Dates” charts below for determining when they can file such applications. When USCIS determines that there are more immigrant visas available for the fiscal year than there are known applicants for such visas, USCIS will state on its website that applicants may instead use the “Dates for Filing Visa Applications” charts in this Bulletin.
1. Procedures for determining dates. Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; USCIS reports applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations in the charts below were made, to the extent possible, in chronological order of reported priority dates, for demand received by March 3rd . If not all demand could be satisfied, the category or foreign state in which demand was excessive was deemed oversubscribed. The final action date for an oversubscribed category is the priority date of the first applicant who could not be reached within the numerical limits. If it becomes necessary during the monthly allocation process to retrogress a final action date, supplemental requests for numbers will be honored only if the priority date falls within the new final action date announced in this bulletin. If at any time an annual limit were reached, it would be necessary to immediately make the preference category “unavailable”, and no further requests for numbers would be honored.
2. The fiscal year 2025 limit for family-sponsored preference immigrants determined in accordance with Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is 226,000. The worldwide level for annual employment-based preference immigrants is at least 140,000. Section 202 prescribes that the per-country limit for preference immigrants is set at 7% of the total annual family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits, i.e., 25,620. The dependent area limit is set at 2%, or 7,320.
3. INA Section 203(e) provides that family-sponsored and employment-based preference visas be issued to eligible immigrants in the order in which a petition in behalf of each has been filed. Section 203(d) provides that spouses and children of preference immigrants are entitled to the same status, and the same order of consideration, if accompanying or following to join the principal. The visa prorating provisions of Section 202(e) apply to allocations for a foreign state or dependent area when visa issuances will exceed the per-country limit. These provisions apply at present to the following oversubscribed chargeability areas: CHINA-mainland born, INDIA, MEXICO, and PHILIPPINES.
4. Section 203(a) of the INA prescribes preference classes for allotment of Family-sponsored immigrant visas as follows:
FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES
First : ( F1 ) Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens: 23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference.
Second : Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents: 114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, plus any unused first preference numbers:
A. ( F2A ) Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents: 77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;
B. ( F2B ) Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents: 23% of the overall second preference limitation.
Third : ( F3 ) Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens: 23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.
Fourth : ( F4 ) Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens: 65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.
C. THE DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT (DV) CATEGORY RANK CUT-OFFS WHICH WILL APPLY IN MAY
For May , immigrant numbers in the DV category are available to qualified DV-2025 applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:
Region
All DV Chargeability Areas Except
Those Listed Separately
AFRICA
35,000
Except: Algeria 34,500
Egypt 32,500
Morocco 30,000
ASIA
6,500
Except: Iran 6,450
Nepal 6,450
EUROPE
16,000
Except: Russia 15,950
Uzbekistan 9,000
NORTH AMERICA (BAHAMAS)
20
OCEANIA
1,550
SOUTH AMERICA,
and the CARIBBEAN
2,250
D. ANNUAL LIMIT REACHED IN THE EMPLOYMENT-BASED FOURTH PREFERENCE (EB-4) CATEGORY
The State Department, working in close collaboration with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, has issued all available immigrant visas in the Employment-Based Fourth Preference (EB-4) category, which includes visas made available to certain religious workers under the SR visa category, for fiscal year (FY) 2025 and the category was made unavailable on February 28, 2025. Since all available EB-4 visas for FY 2025 have been used, embassies and consulates may not issue visas in these categories for the remainder of the fiscal year. The annual limits will reset with the start of the new fiscal year (FY 2026) on October 1, 2025. At that point, embassies and consulates may resume issuing immigrant visas in this category to qualified applicants.
E. RETROGRESSION OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED FIFTH PREFERENCE (EB-5) UNRESERVED FINAL ACTION DATES FOR CHINA AND INDIA
Increased demand and number use by China and India in the EB-5 unreserved visa categories, combined with increased Rest of World demand and number use, made it necessary to retrogress the final action dates to hold number use within the maximum allowed under the FY-2025 annual limits. Please note that it may also become necessary to establish a final action date for Rest of World countries if demand and number use continues to increase. This situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly.
F. U.S. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISAS (SIVs)
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024, signed into law on December 22, 2023, may affect certain current and former employees of the U.S. Government abroad, as well as certain surviving spouses and children of deceased employees of the U.S. government abroad, applying for SIVs or adjustment of status, as described in section 101(a)(27)(D) of the INA. This does not affect certain Iraqis and Afghans applying for SQ and SI SIVs. Applicants should contact the consular section at which they filed their Form DS‑1884 for further information on the impact of that law on their case.
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Understanding the Two Charts
Final Action Dates
For issuance of Green Cards. If your priority date is earlier than the date shown for your category and country, a visa number is available and your case can be approved. “Current” means all priority dates are being processed; “Unavailable” means no visa numbers are authorized this month.
Dates for Filing
For submitting I-485 applications. This chart shows the earliest priority date at which you may assemble and submit documents — ahead of final action — when USCIS designates this chart as usable for the month. It lets applicants get in line earlier while waiting for a visa number.