US November visa bulletin 2025: EB preferences static for India but family categories move ahead in Green Card line 

 

As the U.S. fiscal year begins, the Department of State has released the November 2025 Visa Bulletin, outlining the latest updates for immigrant visa availability and adjustment of status (AOS) filing windows.

For Indian visa seekers, the bulletin reflects modest movement in family filing rules and largely stable employment preferences.

Employment-based: status quo prevails, with USCIS filing chart confirmed

USCIS has announced that for November, employment-based (EB) applicants should use the Date of Filing chart, giving eligible applicants clarity about when they can file their AOS applications, even if a visa isn’t yet available.

Here’s how the Final Action Dates fare this month:

•  

  EB-1 (Priority Workers): For India, EB-1 experienced a sharp retrogression, with the Final Action Date rolling back to 01 FEB 2022, tightening the window for next steps.

• EB-2 (Advanced Degrees / Exceptional Ability): The bulletin shows incremental progress, advancing the Final Action Date to 15 OCT 2012 from October 1, 2012. However, the Dates for Filing remain unchanged at 01 JAN 2013, offering no added flexibility for earlier applicants.

  Advertisement

• EB-3 (Skilled Workers / Professionals) & Other Workers: Both categories now share a Final Action Date of 15 DEC 2012, up from 01 DEC 2012—a modest gain. Their Dates for Filing, however, remain static.

• EB-5 (Unreserved): A promising move: the priority date is set at 01 JAN 2022, offering some leeway for investor-based immigration applicants from India.

Analysis pointers:

• The static Final Action Dates for India in most EB categories reflect ongoing oversubscription and demand outweighing supply.

• The fact that USCIS confirms use of the Date of Filing chart is significant: it allows applicants who qualify to at least begin the AOS filing process earlier.

• Despite limited movement in employment categories, even maintaining these dates without retrogression might be seen as a soft stabilisation.

  Advertisement

Family-based: modest forward motion, especially in filing windows

USCIS has directed family-based applicants to use the Dates for Filing chart in November. The bulletin shows selective advances in family filing windows, though Final Action Dates remain unchanged.

Highlights for Indian-chargeable categories:

• F-1 (Unmarried sons/daughters of U.S. citizens): Dates for Filing stay unchanged for India; Final Action unchanged.

• F-2A (Spouses & children of permanent residents): Dates for Filing move forward by one month to Oct 22, 2025; Final Action Dates remain unchanged.

• F-2B (Adult unmarried children): Dates for Filing for India advance three months to Mar 8, 2017. Final Action Dates for India move one week to Dec 1, 2016.

• F-3 (Married children of citizens): Dates for Filing remain static for India; Final Action Dates unchanged.

• F-4 (Siblings): No changes in either Dates for Filing or Final Action Dates.

The shifts in F-2A and F-2B filing windows offer subtle relief to Indian applicants, giving them earlier opportunity to file adjustment paperwork.

What this means for Indian applicants

• The continued oversubscription in employment categories means that Indians must still rely on older priority dates and patience; little immediate relief is offered in EB-1 or EB-2.

  Advertisement

• The confirmation to use the Date of Filing chart by USCIS is a positive procedural development—it lets eligible applicants file earlier even if the visa number isn’t yet available.

• Modest advances in family filing windows may allow more Indian applicants to submit their adjustment paperwork sooner, but the core visa backlogs remain unchanged.

How to read the bulletin

The Visa Bulletin is essential in guiding applicants through the U.S. immigration queue. It comprises two main components:

1. Final Action Dates dictate when visa numbers are available and when authorities can approve applications; essentially, the green card “gate opens.”

2. Dates for Filing specify when applicants may submit their adjustment of status or visa applications, even if a number is not yet available.