The U.S. Department of State has released the Visa Bulletin for October 2025, providing updated wait times for family- and employment-based green card applicants. This monthly bulletin determines when applicants can move forward in the immigration process.
For October, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed that:
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Family-based applicants must use the “Dates for Filing” chart.
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Employment-based applicants must also use the “Dates for Filing” chart.
Key Highlights: Family-Based Categories
The October 2025 bulletin brought significant progress across several family-sponsored preference categories:
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F-2B (Unmarried Adult Children of Green Card Holders – Mexico) advanced more than 8 months.
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F-1 (Unmarried Adult Children of U.S. Citizens – Mexico) moved ahead over 4 months.
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F-2A (Spouses and Children of Green Card Holders) advanced nearly 4 months across all countries.
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F-3 (Married Children of U.S. Citizens – Philippines) progressed by 3 months.
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F-4 (Brothers and Sisters of U.S. Citizens) moved forward 2 months for China and “All Other Areas,” and by 2 weeks for India.
Key Highlights: Employment-Based Categories
The employment-based visa categories also saw major advancements:
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EB-1 advanced 6 months for China and more than a year for India.
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EB-2 moved ahead by nearly one year for all countries.
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EB-3 and Other Worker categories saw large jumps for China and India.
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EB-5 (Investor Program – India) advanced over two years, marking the biggest movement this month.
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With the start of the new fiscal year, EB-4 became available again, reopening with a February 15, 2021 priority date for all countries.
What Is the Visa Bulletin?
The Visa Bulletin acts like a monthly progress report for green card applicants, showing where each category stands in line.
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Priority Dates: Your priority date is your place in line.
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Dates for Filing: If your priority date is earlier than the listed cut-off date, you can submit your application.
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Final Action Dates: These indicate when the government is actually ready to approve your green card.
The gap between “Dates for Filing” and “Final Action Dates” represents the estimated processing time.
There are two main ways to move forward once your date becomes current:
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Adjustment of Status – if you’re already living in the United States.
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Consular Processing – if you’re applying from outside the U.S.
The information above is drawn directly from the U.S. Department of State’s October 2025 Visa Bulletin, based on data from Section 203 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), with family and employment-based cut-off dates detailed in Charts 4.A–5.B. Full bulletin available at travel.state.gov.
