Understanding the march 2025 Visa Bulletin: A Guide to U.S. Immigration Policies

The United States Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, has released the Visa Bulletin for March 2025. This bulletin provides essential information regarding the availability of immigrant visas, also known as green cards, in various categories. The bulletin includes Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing Applications, which are critical for immigrants seeking U.S. permanent residency.

Understanding the Visa Bulletin

The Visa Bulletin is divided into two major sections:

1. Final Action Dates – These dates indicate when an applicant’s priority date becomes current, allowing them to move forward with visa issuance or adjustment of status.
2. Dates for Filing Applications – These dates determine when applicants can begin submitting their supporting documents to the National Visa Center (NVC) in preparation for their visa interview.

Family-Sponsored Visa Categories

The family-sponsored preference system allows U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to bring their family members to the U.S. under different categories:

• F1 (First Preference): Unmarried sons and daughters (21 years or older) of U.S. citizens.
• F2A (Second Preference A): Spouses and children of lawful permanent residents.
• F2B (Second Preference B): Unmarried sons and daughters (21 years or older) of lawful permanent residents.
• F3 (Third Preference): Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens.
• F4 (Fourth Preference): Siblings of U.S. citizens, if the citizen is at least 21 years old.

Key Observations for Family-Sponsored Visas in March 2025

• The F2A category remains mostly current, meaning that applicants in this category can proceed with their applications without significant delays.
• Countries like Mexico and the Philippines have significantly long wait times across all family-sponsored categories.
• The F4 category (siblings of U.S. citizens) has one of the longest wait times, especially for India, Mexico, and the Philippines.
• The Final Action Dates for most categories have moved slightly forward, though no significant advancements were made for heavily backlogged countries.

Employment-Based Visa Categories

The employment-based immigration system allows skilled workers, professionals, and investors to obtain U.S. permanent residency. These categories include:

• EB-1 (Priority Workers): Individuals with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and multinational executives.
• EB-2 (Advanced Degrees/Exceptional Ability): Professionals with advanced degrees or individuals with exceptional abilities in their field.
• EB-3 (Skilled Workers/Professionals): Skilled workers with at least two years of experience and professionals with a bachelor’s degree.
• EB-4 (Special Immigrants): Includes religious workers, certain U.S. government employees, and others.
• EB-5 (Investor Visa): Foreign investors who create jobs in the U.S.

Key Observations for Employment-Based Visas in March 2025

• The EB-1 category remains current for most countries, allowing eligible applicants to move forward immediately.
• EB-2 and EB-3 categories for India and China remain significantly backlogged, with long waiting times.
• The EB-4 Special Immigrant category has retrogressed, meaning that visa availability has moved backward due to high demand.
• EB-5 (Investor Visa) remains current for most applicants, providing opportunities for investors to gain permanent residency without delays.

Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Program

The Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery allocates up to 52,000 visas each fiscal year for applicants from countries with low immigration rates to the U.S. In March 2025, visa numbers remain available for all regions, but some countries have cutoff points due to demand.

Key Observations for Diversity Visas in March 2025

• Africa has the highest number of available visas, but applicants from countries like Egypt and Morocco face restrictions due to high demand.
• Asia has fewer visa slots available, with countries like Iran and Nepal having lower cutoff numbers.
• Europe has moderate availability, but Russia and Uzbekistan have limitations due to demand.
• South America and Oceania continue to have lower demand, allowing applicants to move forward without significant delays.

Important Reminder for DV Applicants

• Diversity Visa numbers are only available through September 30, 2025. If an applicant does not complete the visa process by then, they will lose their eligibility.
• Spouses and children of DV-2025 applicants must also complete their process before the deadline.
• The DV category is subject to high demand, meaning that numbers could run out before the fiscal year ends.

Additional Considerations and Policy Updates

Retrogression in EB-4 and Religious Workers Category

• Due to high demand, the EB-4 category has retrogressed, meaning applicants in this category may experience further delays.
• The Employment-Based Fourth Preference for Religious Workers (SR category) is set to expire on March 14, 2025, unless further legislative action extends the program.

Impact of New Legislation on Visa Availability

• The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 has introduced provisions affecting certain Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants who worked for the U.S. government abroad.
• No changes have been made to Iraq and Afghanistan Special Immigrant Visas (SQ and SI categories).

Key Points of the March 2025 Visa Bulletin

1. The Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based visa categories have updated priority dates.
2. The worldwide annual limits for immigrant visas are:
   • Family-sponsored preference immigrants: 226,000 visas.
   • Employment-based preference immigrants: At least 140,000 visas.
   • The per-country limit is set at 7% of the total preference visas (25,620 visas per country).
   • Dependent areas have a limit of 2% (7,320 visas).
3. The Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery cutoff numbers for March and April 2025 have been specified.
4. Certain categories, such as EB-4 Special Immigrants, are facing retrogression and may become unavailable soon.

Family-Sponsored Preferences: Final Action Dates

The Final Action Dates indicate when visa applicants can proceed with their applications. If a category is listed as “C” (Current), then visas are immediately available. If a date is listed, only applicants with priority dates before that date can proceed.

Notes:

• The F2A category is mostly current (C) except for Mexico, which has a cutoff of 15MAY21.
• The Philippines and Mexico continue to have significant backlogs across all categories.

Dates for Filing Family-Sponsored Applications

These dates indicate when applicants can begin submitting documents to the National Visa Center.

Employment-Based Preferences: Final Action Dates

These dates determine when employment-based green card applicants can move forward in the process.

Important Employment-Based Visa Notes:

• The EB-2 and EB-3 categories for India have significant backlogs, with EB-2 at 01DEC12 and EB-3 at 01FEB13.
• The EB-5 Investor category remains current for most countries.
• The EB-4 Special Immigrant category has retrogressed due to high demand and might become unavailable soon.

Dates for Filing Employment-Based Applications

Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Cutoff Numbers

The DV program provides up to 52,000 visas to applicants from countries with low immigration rates to the U.S.

Conclusion

The March 2025 Visa Bulletin brings some progress for certain applicants, while others, especially India and Mexico, continue to face long waits. Family-sponsored categories see little movement, and employment-based visas remain heavily backlogged for certain countries. Diversity Visa applicants should act quickly before the September 30, 2025 deadline.

For more details, visit travel.state.gov or USCIS Visa Bulletin Information.