• Source:JND
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The U.S. Department of State has released the July 2025 Visa Bulletin, bringing modest but welcome progress for many Indian green card applicants. Although the highly backlogged EB-1 and EB-2 categories saw no change for India, other key employment- and family-based preference categories witnessed some forward movement, signalling incremental relief for applicants stuck in years-long queues.

Among employment-based categories, the EB-3 (Professionals and Skilled Workers) Final Action Date for India has advanced by one week, now set at April 22, 2013. While the movement is minor, it is still a positive sign for thousands awaiting their green cards in this category. For China, the EB-3 date moved to December 1, 2020, and for all other countries, the date jumped by seven weeks to April 1, 2023.

The EB-1 category for India remains unchanged at February 15, 2022, while China saw a small one-week advancement to November 15, 2022. Similarly, EB-2 for India remains static at January 1, 2013, though China moved forward by two weeks to December 15, 2020.

The EB-5 category, both unreserved and set-aside categories (rural, high unemployment, infrastructure), remains unchanged for India at May 1, 2019. All other countries in EB-5 categories are current.

Family-Based Visa Movements:

In family-sponsored categories, several advancements bring hope to Indian applicants:

F2A (Spouses and children of permanent residents): This category saw the most significant movement, with the Final Action Date jumping from January 1, 2022 to September 1, 2022.

F4 (Siblings of adult US citizens): The date advanced from June 15, 2006, to July 8, 2006.

F1 (Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens): Now set at July 15, 2016, up from June 8, 2016.

F2B (Unmarried adult children of permanent residents): Advanced to October 15, 2016, from September 22, 2016.

F3 (Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens): Moved forward to August 1, 2011, from June 22, 2011.

The USCIS is expected to announce shortly whether it will accept adjustment of status applications in July based on the Final Action Dates or the Dates for Filing chart. Applicants are advised to watch for this update on the USCIS Visa Bulletin web page to determine their eligibility for filing. Though limited in scope, these advancements in the July 2025 bulletin offer much-needed hope for Indian green card seekers amid long wait times and policy uncertainty.