December 2025 US Visa Bulletin: Indians in EB-1 to EB-5 see progress, family cases remain stuck | What you should know

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The United States State Department’s December 2025 Visa Bulletin has brought rare good news for Indian applicants in employment-based green card categories, showing clear forward movement across most lines. However, family-sponsored categories have once again remained unchanged, leaving long waiting lists largely untouched.

The Visa Bulletin determines which green card applications the government will process next. Applicants whose priority date, the day their petition was first filed, is earlier than the published cutoff date can move forward in the process. Those with later dates must continue waiting in the queue.

For India, December has been one of the strongest months of progress in recent times. The EB-1 category for priority workers has advanced to 15 March 2022, while EB-2, which includes professionals with advanced degrees, has moved to 15 May 2013. The EB-3 category, covering skilled workers and professionals, has shifted forward to 22 September 2013.

Other employment-based categories have also seen movement. The EB-4 category, which includes certain special immigrants, has advanced to 1 September 2020, while the Religious Workers category has reopened after being unavailable in November. The EB-5 investor visa category has made the biggest leap, moving ahead by five months to 1 July 2021, offering significant relief to Indian investors waiting for their permanent residency.

These changes mean that a larger number of Indian professionals and investors now fall within the updated cutoff dates and can take the next step toward obtaining a green card.

On the family side, progress remains slow. The Final Action Dates for F1, F2A, F2B, F3, and F4 categories have not changed. The only small adjustment comes in F2A, where applicants can now file one month earlier than before. For most family-sponsored cases, the backlog continues to stretch over several years.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed that it will continue using the Dates for Filing chart for both employment-based and family-based categories. This policy allows applicants to submit their adjustment of status paperwork earlier, lock in their priority dates, and receive work and travel authorization even if a green card number is not yet available.

In summary, the December 2025 Visa Bulletin has brought welcome progress for Indian professionals, especially those in the EB-5 category. For family-based applicants, however, the wait remains as long and uncertain as ever.