Visa Bulletin For April 2025: EB-3 Dates and Availability

The Department of State released the April 2025 Visa Bulletin (Volume XI, Number 1), detailing immigrant visa number availability for the month. The bulletin governs when applicants may file for adjustment of status or proceed with consular processing based on their priority dates. For fiscal year 2025, the worldwide employment-based preference immigrant limit is set at a minimum of 140,000 visas annually. The per-country cap remains at 7% of the combined family and employment-based annual limits, equating to approximately 25,620 visas per country. This cap continues to create significant backlogs for high-demand countries. Four countries remain designated as oversubscribed chargeability areas: China (mainland born), India, Mexico, and the Philippines. EB-3 applicants born in these countries face the longest waiting periods due to per-country limits and historically high petition volumes, particularly for India and China. Applicants seeking to file for adjustment of status with USCIS must consult the Final Action Dates chart unless USCIS explicitly authorizes use of the Dates for Filing chart. USCIS publishes this authorization at uscis.gov/visabulletininfo each month based on projected annual visa availability. EB-3 applicants and their attorneys should review the April 2025 bulletin closely to determine whether their priority date has become current and whether they are eligible to file Form I-485 or proceed with National Visa Center document submission.