(UNITED STATES) The U.S. Department of State, working with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, has confirmed that the government has issued all available EB-1 immigrant visas for fiscal year FY 2025, halting further EB-1 visa issuance at embassies and consulates worldwide until the next fiscal year begins on October 1, 2025. The announcement, made in early September, means that qualified applicants who are waiting for consular interviews or final approval steps linked to a visa number will face a pause for the rest of September.
EB-1 is the employment-based first preference category, reserved for people of extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and multinational managers and executives. Under the law, it receives 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based limit, which totals about 140,000 each year across all employment categories—translating to roughly 42,900 EB-1 visas in FY 2025.
Immediate effect and what is and isn’t affected
The immediate effect is straightforward: embassies and consulates cannot issue any more EB-1 immigrant visas until the annual counters reset on October 1, 2025 (start of FY 2026).
- This cap only affects issuance when:
- A consulate issues an immigrant visa, or
- A final decision on an application inside the U.S. requires a visa number to be available.
- Preliminary steps do not consume visa numbers:
- Approved petitions
- Documentarily qualified notices
- Interview scheduling
Those steps can continue without drawing from the finite annual total.
Important: This pause is not a denial. It is a temporary stop based on the numerical cap and clears automatically when the new fiscal year starts.
Who is most affected
For many families and employers, the pause can be disruptive. Examples:
- A scientist who has already packed for a move.
- A senior manager who planned a start date with a U.S. subsidiary.
- A professor committed to a fall semester.
Indian and Chinese nationals are especially affected because demand from those countries is high. The September Visa Bulletin shows no forward movement in EB-1 priority dates for India (15-Feb-22) and China (15-Nov-22), reflecting both exhaustion of the annual limit and ongoing backlogs.
Legal and numerical basis
- The Immigration and Nationality Act sets annual ceilings for immigrant visas in each employment-based preference.
- EB-1 receives 28.6% of the employment-based cap; the base employment-based total is about 140,000.
- The actual number available to each category can change due to family-based visas that “carry over” into the employment-based pool.
- Pandemic years caused unusual carryovers, temporarily raising employment-based availability.
- FY 2025 is closer to a normalized level: higher than some pre-pandemic years, but below the peaks seen 2021–2024.
Officials say visa issuance will resume on October 1, 2025, when the new fiscal year starts and fresh annual limits become available.
How issuance is handled at the end of the fiscal year
- A candidate with a scheduled consular interview in late September may have adjudication finish but the visa cannot be printed due to lack of EB-1 numbers.
- Typical practice: the consulate holds the case and issues once the new year opens.
- Someone in the U.S. whose final approval depends on visa number availability would face a similar pause.
- This pause is a timing issue (numerical cap) rather than an adverse adjudicative action.
Visa Bulletin and priority dates
The State Department’s monthly Visa Bulletin is the main public tool tracking these shifts.
- The September 2025 chart confirms flat EB-1 priority dates and communicates pressure for India and China.
- A country-specific EB-1 cutoff date indicates when the government expects visa numbers to run out for applicants from that country.
- Lack of movement signals that demand equals supply at the end of FY 2025.
- People with current priority dates and completed processing will be among the first in line when FY 2026 opens.
When visa numbers are charged
Visa numbers are charged only at final issuance or final approval that requires a visa number.
- This is why applicants can experience steady intermediate steps (biometrics, document qualification, interview scheduling) without consuming the annual total.
- Family members (spouse and children) do not pull numbers until their own approvals are complete.
Analysis and reporting
VisaVerge.com reports that the EB-1 pause in FY 2025 has created a brief end-of-year bottleneck that should ease once October arrives.
- Their analysis mirrors late-year slowdowns in recent cycles: small increases in filings near the end of the year can tip a category over the line.
- FY 2025’s family-based carryover is lower than during pandemic recovery, keeping EB-1 closer to its statutory share.
Practical steps for applicants and employers
While no EB-1 visas can be issued until October 1, 2025, the following steps will help applicants be ready when numbers refresh:
- Keep documents current
- Police certificates, medical exams, and civil records have validity windows—refresh if needed.
- Confirm contact details
- With the National Visa Center or consulate so October updates reach you quickly.
- Attend interviews if scheduled for September
- Issuance may be deferred to October without a second interview.
- If inside the U.S. on temporary status
- Maintain status through September and consult counsel if near a deadline.
- Employers should prepare onboarding plans
- Include October start dates, remote ramp-up (where allowed), or short-term reassignments.
Employers can also provide letters explaining the pause to help with school and landlord conversations.
EB-1 category details
EB-1 includes three subgroups:
- Extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics.
- Outstanding professors and researchers.
- Multinational executives or managers.
- Some EB-1 petitions do not require labor certification, allowing earlier-stage movement to be quicker.
- Still, the annual worldwide numerical cap applies and can close issuance when reached.
Country-specific considerations
- Even when a date is “current” worldwide, country-level demand can create a cutoff date.
- For September 2025:
- India EB-1: 15-Feb-22
- China EB-1: 15-Nov-22
- These dates show steady demand and a queue that will be managed once FY 2026 numbers become available.
Life, career, and organizational impacts
- Scientists, artists, athletes, managers, and academics may need small schedule adjustments:
- Shift grant kickoffs, residencies, or start dates to mid-October.
- Appoint acting leads or delegate authority temporarily.
- HR and university teams should:
- Communicate clearly about the pause.
- Keep offers warm and confirm flexible start dates.
- Use the notice period to identify cases that are documentarily complete and prepare for early-October issuances.
Broader employment-based context
- Pandemic-era unused family-based visas carried over and expanded employment-based totals; FY 2025 sees fewer such carryovers.
- That normalization tightens margins and makes caps hit earlier, especially for high-demand categories like EB-1.
- Observers expect steady but cautious movement when FY 2026 begins; the Visa Bulletin will show actual shifts.
Warnings and deadlines
Warning: Avoid quitting jobs or giving up housing solely on an expected September EB-1 issuance, since numbers only become available on October 1, 2025.
For families in school years or with lease renewals, consider flexible options (delayed travel, flexible closing dates, temporary accommodations).
Official sources and monitoring
- The State Department’s Visa Bulletin is the central monthly reference for cutoffs and availability.
- Track monthly priority date changes and availability at the U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin page:
Final takeaways
- The EB-1 limit for FY 2025 has been reached; no further EB-1 immigrant visas will be issued through September 30, 2025.
- Issuance will resume on October 1, 2025, when FY 2026 begins.
- This is a temporary, predictable, numerically-driven pause, not a policy change or denial of eligibility.
- Applicants and employers should use the remaining weeks to finalize documents, confirm communications, and set flexible plans for early October.
Policy Changes Overview (Key points)
- The EB-1 limit for FY 2025 has been reached; no further EB-1 immigrant visas will be issued for the rest of the fiscal year (ends September 30, 2025).
- Issuance resumes on October 1, 2025, when FY 2026 begins.
- EB-1 share: 28.6% of the employment-based cap ≈ 42,900 visas for FY 2025 (based on ~140,000 employment-based total).
- September 2025 Visa Bulletin shows no forward movement in EB-1 for India (15-Feb-22) and China (15-Nov-22).
- Visa numbers are charged only at final issuance or final approval that requires a visa number—not at earlier case milestones.
Applicants, employers, and universities should watch the Visa Bulletin monthly and stay in contact with consulates, the National Visa Center, and counsel to ensure quick action when FY 2026 opens.
This Article in a Nutshell
The Department of State and USCIS announced that all EB-1 immigrant visas for FY 2025 have been allocated. EB-1 receives 28.6% of the employment-based annual limit, translating to roughly 42,900 visas this fiscal year. As a result, embassies and consulates worldwide must stop issuing EB-1 visas until the new fiscal year begins on October 1, 2025. The cap affects final issuance and approvals that require a visa number, while intermediate steps like petition approvals and interview scheduling continue unaffected. The September Visa Bulletin shows no forward movement for India (15-Feb-22) and China (15-Nov-22), highlighting country-specific backlogs. Applicants with late-September interviews may have issuances deferred to October; consulates typically hold cases. Practical advice includes updating documentation, confirming contact information, attending interviews, maintaining U.S. status if present, and employers preparing flexible onboarding. This is a temporary, numerically driven pause; issuance will resume when FY 2026 opens and the Visa Bulletin should be monitored for priority date movement.
