Key Differences Between December vs January 2025 Visa Bulletins: Changes Explained

The U.S. Department of State’s Visa Bulletin is a critical resource for individuals seeking immigrant visas under family-sponsored, employment-based, or diversity visa categories. It determines the availability of immigrant visa numbers and guides applicants on when they can proceed with their cases. The comparison between the December 2024 and January 2025 bulletins reveals important changes and trends, providing insights into visa availability, priority dates, and application filing timelines.

This detailed article will outline the key differences between the two bulletins, categorize changes by preference category, and analyze how these developments might impact applicants.

Key Changes at a Glance

1. Family-Sponsored Preferences

Final Action Dates for Family-Sponsored Preferences

• Key Observations:
  • F1 advanced by one month for all regions except Mexico (unchanged at 22NOV04) and the Philippines, which saw a seven-day advancement (01MAR12 → 08MAR12).
  • F2A remained static except for Mexico, which advanced by one month (15APR21 → 15MAY21).
  • F2B showed minor advancements globally (01MAY16 → 22MAY16) but no movement for Mexico or the Philippines.
  • F3 made significant progress, especially for India, China, and All Chargeability Areas, advancing by more than two months.
  • F4 advanced for India (08MAR06 → 08APR06) and the Philippines (01FEB04 → 01MAY04) but remained static for other regions.

Dates for Filing Family-Sponsored Preferences

• Key Observations:
  • Filing dates for F2B (Mexico) advanced by three months (01JUL06 → 01OCT06).
  • F3 saw a three-month advancement for All Chargeability Areas, China, and India (22APR12 → 22JUL12).
  • Slight progress for F4 (India and the Philippines) filing dates.

2. Employment-Based Preferences

Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Preferences

• Key Observations:
  • EB-1 remained static across all categories.
  • EB-2 saw a significant advancement of two months for India (01AUG12 → 01OCT12) and modest progress for all other regions.
  • EB-3 made consistent progress globally, with a notable advancement of one month for India.

Dates for Filing Employment-Based Preferences

• Key Observations:
  • Filing dates for employment-based preferences remained unchanged across all categories.

3. Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery

• Key Observations:
  • Cut-off numbers for the DV lottery increased significantly for all regions, indicating a surge in visa availability.

Conclusion

The January 2025 Visa Bulletin demonstrates slight but notable improvements compared to December 2024 in certain family-sponsored and employment-based categories. Key highlights include advancements in F3 and F4 categories and EB-2 and EB-3 employment categories, particularly for heavily backlogged countries like India and China. The Diversity Visa program also saw significant progress in cut-off numbers, indicating increased availability.

Applicants are advised to monitor these trends closely and consult the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website for further updates. These changes may affect their ability to file applications or take further action on pending cases.