The U.S. Department of State has released its July 2025 Visa Bulletin imposing per-country cut-off dates that regulate immigrant visa availability and the flow of Adjustment of Status (AOS) applications and consular Immigrant Visa application interviews and approvals. In order to be “current,” the priority date held by a person applying for permanent residence must be before the cut-off date specified in the monthly Visa Bulletin.

The Visa Bulletin includes both a Dates for Filing chart and a Final Action Dates chart. The Final Action Dates chart indicates when a priority date is current and I-485 AOS applications or Immigrant Visa applications may be approved and permanent residence granted. The Dates for Filing chart, when followed by USCIS, indicates when intending immigrants may file their AOS applications with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The July 2025 Final Action Dates chart has several changes from the June 2025 bulletin for the various EB categories and countries of chargeability. EB-1 cut-off dates remain Current for the Rest of the World, Mexico and the Philippines. EB-1 India remains unchanged from last month at 02/15/2022. EB-1 China moves forward slightly to 11/15/2022. The India EB-2 category stays at 01/01/2013. The India EB-3 category moves from 04/15/2013 to 4/22/2013. The China EB-2 category moves from 12/01/2020 to 12/15/2020, and the China EB-3 category moves from 11/22/2020 to 12/1/2020. The Rest of the World EB-2 category remains at 10/15/2023. The Rest of the World and Mexico EB-3 categories move from 02/08/2023 to 04/1/2023.

The July Visa Bulletin’s Dates for Filing chart for the Employment-Based (EB) categories has only forward movement from the June 2025 Visa Bulletin in the EB-3 category. Under the Dates for Filing chart, EB-1 Rest of the World, Mexico, and Philippines remain Current. EB-1 China remains at 01/01/2023 and EB-1 India remains at 04/15/2022. The EB-2 India Dates for Filing category remains at 02/01/2013. EB-2 China stays at 01/01/2021. The EB-2 categories for Rest of World, Mexico, and Philippines are also unchanged at 11/15/2023.The EB-3 Dates for Filing categories for Rest of World, Mexico, and Philippines move forward from 03/01/2023 to 05/1/2023. The EB-3 India category remains at 06/08/2013. The EB-3 China category stays at 12/22/2020.

Final Action Dates Chart Will Control in July 2025

Each month, USCIS chooses either to follow the Final Action or the Dates for Filing chart. For July 2025, USCIS will follow the Final Action Dates chart for Employment-Based AOS application filings. To be eligible to have approved an Employment-Based (EB) AOS application, a foreign national must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed below for his or her preference category and country of chargeability. The “C” listing indicates that the category is “current” and that applications may be approved with any priority date, however recent.

T&S Takeaway

This is the sixth month in a row that the USCIS has chosen to impose Final Action EB dates. The July Visa Bulletin makes no comment in this regard, but it is possible, like last month, that increased visa demand may have been a factor. Given the fact that July is the first month of the final quarter of the  Department of State’s fiscal year, It is disappointing that more significant forward movement has not occurred in the more historically backlogged categories, especially since  July marks the start of the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year and the Department of State had in the past  indicated that cut-off dates might be adjusted on a quarterly basis.

It is possible, however, that more aggressive cut-off date forward movement may occur in August and September.

The attorneys of Tafapolsky & Smith LLP will monitor and analyze all developments affecting immigrant visa availability, including all statements made by the Department of State officers before the publication of the relevant Visa Bulletin and will provide immediate updates on any significant developments.