US February Visa Bulletin 2025: Indians seeking jobs advance in EB-2, EB-3 categories, but no 'Green Card' luck for...

The U.S. Department of State has released its February Visa Bulletin, which serves as a critical tool for prospective immigrants seeking green cards and visas in the United States. This bulletin marks the second such update for the year 2025 and reveals substantial progress in several employment-based (EB) visa categories, particularly benefiting applicants from India.

Key highlights

Employment-based visa categories

For employment-based preferences, the bulletin indicates significant shifts for Indians:

- Second Preference (EB-2): The final action date for EB-2, which includes professionals holding advanced degrees and individuals with exceptional ability, has advanced to October 15, 2012 from October 1, 2012. However, the filing dates remain unchanged on January 1, 2013.
  
- Third Preference (EB-3) and Other Workers: These categories now share a final action date of December 15, 2012 from December 1, 2012, while their filing dates have not seen any movement.

Final Action Dates:

EB-1 (Priority Workers): Significant retrogression for India to 01 FEB'22.

EB-2 (Advanced Degrees/Exceptional Ability): 15 OCT'12, highlighting extended delays.

EB-3 (Skilled Workers and Professionals): 15 DEC'12, slow movement but consistent with historical trends.

Other Workers: Same as EB-3 for India at 15 DEC' 12.

EB-5 (Unreserved): The priority date is 01 JAN'22, a positive sign for investors.

Dates for Filing:

EB-1: Filing allowed for priority dates before 15 APR'22.

EB-2: Filing allowed for priority dates before 01 JAN'13.

EB-3: Filing allowed for priority dates before 08 JUN'13, showing a slight advantage for those with earlier filing dates.

India remains in an oversubscribed state across most categories, leading to significantly retrogressed priority dates, particularly in EB-1 and EB-2.

Family-based categories

There have been no changes made to the family-based visa categories from the previous month's announcements. Final actions dates and dates for filing across these categories continue to be the same for all the Indian families.

- F1: Cutoff date is 22 November 2015 (unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens).

- F2A: Cutoff date is 01 January 2022 (spouses and unmarried children of lawful permanent residents).

- F2B: Cutoff date is 22 May 2016 (unmarried sons and daughters, 21 years and older, of lawful permanent residents).

- F3: Cutoff date is 01 July 2010 (married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens).

- F4: Cutoff date is 01 August 2007 (brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens).

These cutoff dates indicate the waiting period and backlog for applicants from India in each category. 

Understanding the visa bulletin

The Visa Bulletin is essential for individuals seeking green cards, as it provides vital information about the timelines for adjusting immigration status and eligibility based on the submission of applications. The bulletin consists of two main sections:

1. Final Action Dates: This section estimates the wait time for application approval for those seeking permanent residency. It creates a queue based on visa category and nationality, indicating when applicants can expect their applications to be processed.
  
2. Dates for Filing: This section specifies the earliest date that applicants can submit their adjustment of status or immigrant visa applications. It helps applicants determine when they can proceed with their filing based on their visa category and country of origin.