The U.S. Department of State publishes the Visa Bulletin each month and today is the time for November 2025 Visa Bulletin. It shows which immigrant visa applicants may move forward with their cases, either via consular processing or adjustment of status in the U.S. Two main charts are relevant:

• Final Action Dates: When visas can be issued or when adjustment applications can be approved.
• Dates for Filing: When applicants may submit documents (e.g. to the National Visa Center) in advance, even before final action is possible.

Unless USCIS explicitly announces otherwise on its website, those applying for adjustment of status must use the Final Action Dates chart to see if their case is eligible to move ahead.

Below, we break down each major section of the November 2025 Bulletin, and highlight important numbers, dates, and country effects.

A. Statutory Visa Numbers & General Rules

1. How Dates Are Determined

• Every month, consular officers and USCIS report applicants who are “documentarily qualified” or “ready” for adjustment.
• If demand (number of applicants) exceeds the allocation (available visa numbers), then the category (or certain countries) becomes “oversubscribed.”
• In oversubscribed cases, the Final Action Date is set to the priority date of the first applicant who could not be served due to numerical limits.
• If additional visa numbers become available later, they are applied only to those whose priority date falls before the retrogressed final action date.

2. Annual Limits & Per-Country Caps

• For fiscal year 2026, the total number of family-sponsored preference visas is 226,000.
• The global limit for employment-based preference visas is at least 140,000.
• No single country may receive more than 7% of either the family-sponsored or employment preference visas. That’s a per-country cap of 25,620 out of family + employment total.
• Dependent areas (smaller territories) get a 2% share (about 7,320).
• For countries such as China (mainland-born), India, Mexico, and the Philippines, demand is very high, so per-country limits often cause “retrogression” (movement backward of the cut-off dates).

3. Family & Employment Preference Basics

• Family-sponsored preferences (INA §203(a)) are broken into F1, F2A, F2B, F3, F4 categories (different relations to U.S. citizens or permanent residents).
• Employment-based preferences (INA §203(b)) are broken into EB-1, EB-2, EB-3 (including “Other Workers”), EB-4, EB-5 categories.

B. Family-Sponsored Preferences: Final Action Dates (When Visas Can Be Issued)

Below is a simplified breakdown of the Final Action Dates for November 2025, for family-based categories. The date listed means your priority date must be earlier than that date to be eligible.

† For the Philippines under F4, two values are shown (“08APR01” and “22SEP04”) in the source text. It’s likely reflecting different sub-quotas or changes; the earlier of the two is relevant for final action eligibility.

Important notes:

• “C” means Current, i.e. visas are available for all applicants in that category (no backlog).
• “U” means Unavailable — no visas may be issued in that category in that month.
• For F2A, some visa numbers are exempt from the per-country limit (i.e., unaffected by country caps). For November:
  • Exempt F2A numbers are authorized for all countries with a priority date earlier than 01FEB23.
  • For numbers that are subject to per-country caps: for most countries (except Mexico), priority date must be earlier than 01FEB24. For Mexico, all F2A numbers are exempt (i.e. not subject to per-country limits).

C. Family-Sponsored Preferences: Dates for Filing (When You May Submit Documents)

These filing dates allow you to prepare and submit documents (e.g. to the National Visa Center), even if final adjudication must wait. Below are the filing cutoffs for November 2025.

† As before, F4 Philippines shows two possible cutoff dates in the text; use the earlier date (15DEC06) for conservative eligibility.

How to use these dates:

• If your priority date is earlier than the “Dates for Filing” cutoff, you may submit paperwork to the National Visa Center.
• But this does not mean your visa is ready to be issued — you must also wait until your priority date becomes earlier than the Final Action Date in the relevant category.
• The USCIS website may state whether adjustment-of-status applicants should use the Filing Dates (instead of Final Action Dates) for that month — check uscis.gov/visabulletininfo.

D. Employment-Based Preferences: Final Action Dates

Here are the Final Action Dates for November 2025 in the employment-based (EB) categories. Again, your priority date must be earlier than the date shown.

Highlights:

• EB-1 is current for most countries, meaning no backlog — eligible applicants can move forward right away (except those from China or India whose priority dates must be before specific dates given).
• In EB-2, India is heavily backlogged — only applicants with priority dates before 01APR2013 may proceed.
• The “Other Workers” subcategory of EB-3 has its own separate cutoffs, often more retrogressed than general EB-3.
• The EB-5 unreserved category is current for most countries, meaning many investors may proceed without delay.
• All EB-5 “set-aside” categories (rural, high unemployment, infrastructure) are current across the board.

E. Employment-Based Preferences: Dates for Filing

These are the dates for when employment-based applicants may file their documents (e.g. to the National Visa Center), if their priority date is earlier than the cutoff.

Usage notes:

• If your priority date is before the “Dates for Filing” cutoff, you may file your documentation in advance.
• But final approval or visa issuance must still wait until your priority date is earlier than the Final Action Date.
• As always, USCIS may determine that adjustment-of-status applicants should use these Filing Dates in lieu of Final Action Dates for that month — see uscis.gov/visabulletininfo.

F. Diversity Visa (DV) Program (DV-2026) — Lottery Allocation & Rank Cutoffs

The Diversity Visa (DV) program gives up to 55,000 immigrant visas each fiscal year to people from countries with low U.S. immigration rates. For DV-2026, here are the key points and November 2025 allocations:

Key Facts & Adjustments

• Because of provisions under NACARA and amendments in the NDAA 2024, up to 5,000 DV visas may be used for NACARA, reducing the DV total. The result: the DV-2026 total is about 52,000 available visas.
• A limit of 7% per country still applies — no country can get more than 7% of total DV visas.
• The eligibility period for DV-2026 ends September 30, 2026. After that date, no more visas or adjustments under DV-2026 are possible.

November 2025 Rank Cutoff Numbers (by Region)

These numbers indicate that only applicants whose DV lottery rank number is below the cutoff are eligible. For November:

Additional notes:

• Some countries are ineligible for DV-2026: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong), Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
• The Kentucky Consular Center has already registered and notified lottery selectees.
• Applicants in the U.S. with legal presence may apply for adjustment of status, if eligible.
• All DV-2026 actions and finalizations must occur by September 30, 2026.

G. Expiration of the EB-4 “Certain Religious Workers (SR)” Category

A special note:

• The Employment Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers (SR) category was extended by law (H.R. 1968) only through September 30, 2025.
• After midnight, September 29, 2025, no SR visas may be issued overseas, and no adjustment-of-status final action may be taken in that category.
• Accordingly, in November 2025, the Final Action Date for this category is listed as “Unavailable”.
• If Congress reauthorizes it, it may resume immediately, using dates consistent with the rest of EB-4.

H. Summary & Key Takeaways

To help you navigate all this, here are some of the most important points:

1. Use the correct chart: Unless USCIS says otherwise, those applying for adjustment must follow the Final Action Dates chart.
2. Know your priority date and category: Your eligibility depends on being earlier than the cutoff in your category and country.
3. Filing vs. Final Action: Even if you can file your case (according to the “Dates for Filing”), you must still wait for Final Action to be eligible for visa issuance or adjustment.
4. Country caps matter: Countries like China, India, Mexico, and Philippines often face more retrogression because of demand exceeding the 7% limit.
5. DV program is limited in time: DV-2026 must wrap up by September 30, 2026.
6. Check USCIS announcements: Sometimes USCIS determines adjustment-of-status filers may use “Dates for Filing” instead of “Final Action Dates” in that month — always verify on uscis.gov/visabulletininfo.