December 2025 Visa Bulletin: EB Chooses Up, Family Faces Delays

The December 2025 Visa Bulletin arrived with starkly different stories for families and workers, moving key cut-off dates in ways that will speed some cases and hold others back. Compared with November, the bulletin’s Final Action Dates—the dates that actually allow green card approvals—generally advanced in the employment‑based categories, while several family‑sponsored lines saw sharp backward steps.

The U.S. Department of State publishes the Visa Bulletin each month to show when immigrant visas are available across categories and countries; the latest charts confirm the worldwide annual limits and per‑country caps, and again mark China (mainland‑born), India, Mexico, and the Philippines as oversubscribed. The full bulletin is posted on the U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin page.

Family‑sponsored categories — mixed outcomes

Family movement in December is mostly mixed: a few bright spots are outweighed by difficult shifts.

• F1 (unmarried adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens)
  • Largely steady for most regions with little change from November.
  • Mexico sees a modest improvement to March 2006.
  • Philippines remains locked at January 2013.
• F2A (spouses and minor children of permanent residents)
  • Stays comparatively strong on the Final Action chart: 01FEB2024 for most countries.
  • Mexico posts 01FEB2023 with notes that Mexico’s numbers are exempt from the per‑country limit.
  • This remains one of the best family cut‑offs, though Mexico’s posted line looks tighter on paper in December.
• F2B (unmarried adult sons and daughters of permanent residents) — the biggest setback
  • December shows deep retrogression across nearly every region on the Final Action chart.
  • Key Final Action Dates:
  • Rest of World: 01DEC2016
  • Philippines: 08OCT2012
  • Mexico: 15MAY2008
  • People who were close to approval in November now face years more waiting. This reset will force plans to pause, job offers to be reassessed, and family timelines to stretch.
• F3 (married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens)
  • Mixed results: notable forward movement for many countries balanced by severe retrogression for others.
  • Rest of World jumps to 08SEP2011 (nearly four years forward vs. November).
  • Mexico drops to 01MAY2001 and Philippines to 01NOV2004, erasing previous gains.
• F4 (brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens)
  • Rest of World advances to 08JAN2008.
  • Mexico retreats to 08APR2001.
  • Philippines improves to 15JUL2006.
  • China and India settle around late‑2006 to early‑2008.
  • This split outcome means some families see revived movement while others—especially from Mexico—face long delays.

Dates for Filing — family categories

The Dates for Filing chart (which allows applicants to submit paperwork earlier when authorized) shows mixed changes:

• F1 filing dates: hold steady — no relief for those waiting to file.
• F2A filing: unified for all countries at 22NOV2025, opening a wider window to submit documents.
• F2B filing: deep retreat mirroring Final Action retrogression — Rest of World to 08MAR2017, Philippines to 01OCT2013, Mexico to 15MAY2009.
• F3 and F4 filing: generally follow Final Action shifts — Rest of World gains filing room while Mexico and the Philippines face tighter cut‑offs.

Employment‑based categories — clearer improvement

On the employment side, December is far clearer and largely positive.

• EB‑1
  • Current for most countries.
  • Advances for China to 22JAN2023 and India to 15MAR2022.
• EB‑2
  • Pushes forward across the board:
  • Rest of World, Mexico, Philippines: 01FEB2024
  • China: 01JUN2021
  • India: 15MAY2013
• EB‑3
  • Small but steady gains:
  • Rest of World, Mexico, Philippines: 15APR2023
  • China: 01APR2021
  • India: 22SEP2013
  • EB‑3 “Other Workers” track also inches ahead for all regions.

These adjustments matter because Final Action Dates directly control when approvals can occur; even a one‑month step can enable medical exams, job planning, and travel decisions for thousands of long‑pending employees and their families.

EB‑4 — religious workers return

EB‑4 shows two important developments:

• The main EB‑4 line advances by about two months to 01SEP2020 for all countries.
• The Certain Religious Workers (SR) program, which was “Unavailable” in November after authority lapsed, is back in December with the same 01SEP2020 Final Action Date following the November 12 passage of H.R. 5371.
  > The bulletin explains the SR category is extended until late January 2026, so visas in that program can again be issued within the posted cut‑off.

This restores a path for faith‑based organizations and workers who had cases at the brink.

EB‑5 — two‑track progress

EB‑5 continues a two‑track story:

• Unreserved EB‑5 (for backlogged countries) moves: China to 15JUL2016, India to 01JUL2021.
• Rest of World, Mexico, Philippines remain Current.
• All set‑aside categories (Rural, High Unemployment, Infrastructure) remain Current, preserving immediate access for investors qualifying under those reforms‑created lanes.

For families relying on EB‑5 timing, these moves can provide meaningful predictability.

Dates for Filing — employment categories

The Dates for Filing chart in employment:

• EB‑1 filing: remains unchanged and favorable — Current for most; mid‑2023 cut‑offs for China and India.
• EB‑2 filing: tightens — Rest of World, Mexico, Philippines move from Current to 15JUL2024, China stays 01DEC2021, India is 01DEC2013 (a clear pullback vs. November).
• EB‑3 and Other Workers filing: retreat across most regions, especially for India and Rest of World, cutting off early filing that had been available in November.

Implication: Final Action Dates allow more approvals, but fewer applicants can file early in December.

What analysts say — supply/demand dynamics

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the December 2025 bulletin underscores a familiar pattern: when demand swells in one queue, the State Department often advances less‑oversubscribed regions and reins in those with the deepest backlogs to stay within annual limits.

• This is visible in the sizable forward moves for Rest of World in F3 and F4.
• It’s also apparent in the severe pullbacks for Mexico and Philippines in F2B and F3.
• Employment‑based categories (EB‑1, EB‑2, EB‑3, EB‑5) show steadier, broadly positive progress for India and China without sudden reversals.

Practical effects — who wins and who waits

For families:
– Winners: People in F2A worldwide benefit from a near‑current Final Action line and a unified recent filing date, aiding planning.
– Losers: F2B retrogression forces many applicants who gathered documents in November to wait again—possibly years. Mexican and Filipino families in later preferences face some of the hardest year‑end news, with December rolling back timelines to early‑2000s priority dates.

For workers and employers:
– Predictability improves with modest forward steps in EB‑1, EB‑2, and EB‑3 Final Action Dates, allowing approvals to proceed late in the year and stabilizing start dates and staffing plans.
– EB‑4 religious worker visas returning (even with a sunset) reopens an important channel for ministries and nonprofits.
– EB‑5 investors from China and India gain months in the unreserved line while set‑aside categories stay open.

Key takeaway: check both charts—Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing—against your category and country. December’s changes create clear winners and losers depending on where you fall.

Summary — a split decision

• On the most important measure—Final Action Dates—employment‑based categories are moving positively: India and China post steady gains, and most other regions are Current or advancing.
• On the Dates for Filing chart, especially EB‑2 and EB‑3, December trims early filing options that were available in November, prioritizing approvals already in the pipeline over new filings.
• On the family side: F2A stays strong; parts of F3 and F4 improve for Rest of World, China, India, and the Philippines; F2B suffers sweeping retrogression; Mexico faces some of the year’s hardest dates.

For anyone tracking the December 2025 Visa Bulletin: verify both charts for your specific category and country this month, because the winners and losers are sharply defined.