February 2025 Visa Bulletin: The visa bulletin is an extremely important document for those seeking green cards and visas in the US, providing important information about changing their immigration status and eligibility deadlines for applications. Through this bulletin, applicants can know when their applications can be processed and when they will be allowed to take the final step towards their green card.
The US Department of State has released its Visa Bulletin for February 2025, the second update of the year, and reflects significant progress in several employment-based visa categories, especially for applicants who come from India and are looking for a green card.
February 2025 Visa Bulletin Highlights
Employment-Based Visa Categories
This February 2025 Visa Bulletin has made some notable changes for applicants from India in employment-based categories, which is a positive sign towards expediting their application process:
Second Preference (EB-2)
The final action date for this category for advanced degree holders and individuals with extraordinary ability, which was earlier October 1, 2012, has now been extended to October 15, 2012. However, for those who wish to apply, the application dates still remain frozen at January 1, 2013, indicating that there is no change in the deadline for submitting initial documents for the application process.
Third Preference (EB-3) and Other Workers
These categories have also seen a slight improvement, where the final action date has been extended from December 1, 2012 to December 15, 2012. However, there is no change in the application dates, which means that those applying in this category cannot start their process any time soon.
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Final Action Dates
| Category | Final Action Date for India |
| EB-1 (Priority Workers) | Retrogressed to 01 February 2022 |
| EB-2 (Advanced Degree/Exceptional Ability) | 15 October 2012 |
| EB-3 (Skilled Workers and Professionals) | 15 December 2012 |
| Other Workers | 15 December 2012 |
| EB-5 (Unreserved) | 01 January 2022 |
It is evident from the table that Indian applicants across different categories have seen some improvement in final action dates, but some categories still lag behind, indicating that Indian applicants may have to wait longer to receive a Green Card.
| Category | Application Date (for India) |
| EB-1 | Before 15 April 2022 |
| EB-2 | Before 01 January 2013 |
| EB-3 | Before 08 June 2013 |
This table of application dates shows that applicants who have their priority dates before these dates can start their filing process, but there is still a challenge for those whose priority dates are beyond these cutoff dates as they will still have to wait for their filing.
India still remains in a vulnerable position in most categories, with priority dates lagging significantly, especially in EB-1 and EB-2, indicating that Indians applying in these categories will take additional time to complete their process.
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Family Categories
As far as family visa categories are concerned, there are no changes in this visa bulletin, and the dates for all Indian families remain constant as announced last month.
| F1 | The cutoff date for unmarried sons and daughters (of US citizens) is November 22, 2015, which means that those who fall in this category will have to wait a little longer to start their process. |
| F2A | The cutoff date for spouses and unmarried children of lawful permanent residents is January 01, 2022, which means that those who apply in this category can start their process soon. |
| F2B | The cutoff date for unmarried sons and daughters above 21 years of age of lawful permanent residents is May 22, 2016, which means that applicants who fall in this category will have to wait a little longer to start their process. |
| F3 | The cutoff date for married sons and daughters (of US citizens) is July 01, 2010, which means that the waiting period for those who fall in this category is still long. |
| The cutoff date for F4 | Siblings (of US citizens) is 01 August 2007, indicating that people applying in this category will still have to wait a long time. |
These cutoff dates also indicate the waiting period and backlog for applicants from India, indicating that there are still long waits in various categories, and applicants will have to be patient to complete their process
Understanding the February 2025 Visa Bulletin
The Visa Bulletin is extremely important for those who are trying to obtain a green card. It consists of two major sections:
Final Action Dates
- This section estimates the waiting time for those who are applying for permanent residence. It creates a queue based on visa category and nationality, indicating when applicants can expect their application to be processed.
Application Dates
- This section specifies when applicants can submit their status adjustment or immigrant visa applications. It helps applicants determine when they can proceed with their application based on their visa category and country of origin.
This time the Visa Bulletin has brought relief especially for Indians who are applying in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories. However, there is still a long wait for the Green Card, especially in EB-1 and EB-2, which indicates that people applying in these categories will take more time to complete their process.
Based on this information, it is important to understand the various aspects of the Visa Bulletin and plan your application accordingly. The wait is still long for Indian applicants, but there is some relief in some categories, which indicates that some improvements are happening, but there is still a delay in the Green Card process.
So friends, hopefully there will be more positive changes in the next bulletin, which will help you a little more in fulfilling your Green Card dream. Until then, be patient and keep up with your application process so that when the time comes, you can apply for your green card fully prepared.
