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20 August 2025

September 2025 Visa Bulletin: Employment-Based Immigrant Visa Categories Projected To Reach The Annual Limits

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Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart

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Ogletree Deakins is a labor and employment law firm representing management in all types of employment-related legal matters. Ogletree Deakins has more than 850 attorneys located in 53 offices across the United States and in Europe, Canada, and Mexico. The firm represents a range of clients, from small businesses to Fortune 50 companies.
The U.S. Department of State's September 2025 Visa Bulletin maintains the same final action dates and dates for filing that were published in the August 2025 Visa Bulletin.
United States Immigration

The U.S. Department of State's September 2025 Visa Bulletin maintains the same final action dates and dates for filing that were published in the August 2025 Visa Bulletin. However, the State Department cautioned that it anticipates reaching the fiscal year limits for most employment-based (EB) preference categories during August or September. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will accept employment-based adjustment of status filings based on the final action dates chart.

Quick Hits

  • All employment-based final action dates and dates for filing remain unchanged for September 2025.
  • USCIS to accept adjustment-of-status filings based on final action dates in September 2025 Visa Bulletin.
  • The State Department anticipates most EB preference categories will become oversubscribed in August or September.

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Source: U.S. Department of State, September 2025 Visa Bulletin, Final Action Dates Chart

The final action dates for all EB preference categories will remain the same in September 2025 as previously announced in the August 2025 Visa Bulletin:

  • EB-1: All countries remain current in September except for China, which remains at November 15, 2022, and India, which remains at February 15, 2022.
  • EB-2: All countries remain at September 1, 2023, except for China, which remains at December 15, 2020, and India, which remains at January 1, 2013.
  • EB-3: All countries remain at April 1, 2023, except for China, which remains at December 1, 2020; India, which remains at May 22, 2013; and the Philippines, which remains at February 8, 2023.
  • EB-5: All countries remain current in September, except for China, which remains at December 8, 2015, and India, which remains at November 15, 2019.

Key Takeaways

Consistent with its statements in the August 2025 Visa Bulletin, the State Department has confirmed a steady increase in demand for EB immigrant visa numbers and anticipates reaching the 2025 fiscal year limits during August and September. When the annual limit for a preference category is reached, immigrant visa numbers for that category become immediately unavailable. Immigrant visa limits will reset at the beginning of the government's fiscal year on October 1, 2025.

The State Department also determined that the numerical limitation for EB immigrant visas in fiscal year 2025 is 150,037.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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