The December 2025 Visa Bulletin arrived with one theme many applicants did not expect: several categories stayed completely unchanged from November. That stability is most visible in parts of the employment-based charts and in most Diversity Visa regional cut-offs. While movement in other lines drew attention, the core news for November-to-December planning is that a narrow set of categories—especially those tied to EB-5 set-asides and select filing charts—held the same dates and statuses across both months. For families and employers trying to make short-term choices, knowing what did not shift can matter just as much as tracking forward movement.
How the Visa Bulletin charts work
The State Department publishes two key charts each month for most preferences:
- Final Action: indicates when a green card can be approved.
- Dates for Filing: shows when applicants may submit paperwork to the National Visa Center or, for applicants already in the United States 🇺🇸, to USCIS.
Against that structure, only a very small set of lines stayed fully identical between November and December 2025. According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, this uniformity helped a slice of applicants avoid the stop-start cycle that often hits during year-end updates.
Family-based categories — what changed and what didn’t
- On the Final Action chart, no family-sponsored category remained identical across every chargeability area from November to December.
- Even minor shifts, such as F1 Mexico moving from 22MAR06 (November) to 01MAR06 (December), mean the row can’t be counted as completely unchanged.
- F2A and F2B also showed differences between the two months.
- On the Dates for Filing chart, the picture is different:
- F1 — unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens remained completely unchanged across all chargeability areas:
- All Chargeability, China, India: 01SEP17
- Mexico: 01MAR07
- Philippines: 22APR15
- Other family filing lines did change in at least one column:
- F2A moved forward from 22OCT25 (November) to 22NOV25 (December).
- F2B showed a different Mexico value in December.
Takeaway: F1 on the family Dates for Filing chart is the only family filing category that stayed completely unchanged.
Employment-based categories — mixed movement with clear pockets of stability
Final Action chart highlights:
– Improvements: EB-1 for China and India improved in December.
– Changes: EB-2, EB-3, and EB-3 Other Workers showed different cut-off dates compared with November.
– EB-4 and EB-5 Unreserved also differed between months.
– Certain Religious Workers moved from Unavailable (November) to 01SEP20 (December).
Stable cluster:
– The EB-5 set-aside categories remained C (Current) across all countries in both November and December:
– Rural (20%) — C
– High Unemployment (10%) — C
– Infrastructure (2%) — C
– Because each of these rows shows C for every chargeability area in both months, they qualify as completely unchanged Final Action rows.
Dates for Filing chart highlights:
– EB-1 showed the exact same pattern across both months:
– Current for All Chargeability, Mexico, and Philippines
– China: 15MAY23
– India: 15APR23
– EB-2, EB-3, EB-3 Other Workers, and EB-4 reflected at least one change between November and December.
– EB-5 Unreserved (China) moved from 01JUL16 (November) to 22JUL16 (December).
Stable cluster repeated:
– The EB-5 set-aside categories remained Current across all chargeability areas on the Dates for Filing chart as well.
Takeaway: employment-based applicants can count on EB-1 (filing chart) and all three EB-5 set-asides (on both charts) as completely unchanged from November to December.
Diversity Visa (DV-2026) — mostly steady with one targeted shift
DV-2026 regional cut-offs showed a mix of steadiness and one specific advance:
- Change:
- Algeria (Africa) advanced from 14,500 (November) to 17,250 (December).
- Because Algeria moved, the Africa regional line as a whole cannot be counted as completely unchanged despite the regional ceiling holding.
- No change (completely unchanged):
- Asia: 10,000 (with Nepal at 6,000)
- Europe: 7,750
- North America (Bahamas): 20
- Oceania: 1,100
- South America and the Caribbean: 1,850
- Egypt (Africa exception): 16,000
Takeaway: most DV regions continued unchanged from November to December, easing planning for selectees—only Algeria within Africa moved.
Why steadiness matters
When categories remain the same month-to-month, applicants gain practical advantages:
- Simplifies timing decisions for:
- paying fees
- booking medical exams
- preparing civil documents
- Avoids last-minute scrambling caused by retrogressions or unexpected cutbacks.
Examples:
– Investors in EB-5 set-aside projects (Rural, High Unemployment, Infrastructure) can proceed with consular processing confidently while these lanes are Current.
– Indian EB-1 applicants benefit from the filing chart’s consistency even as other categories fluctuate.
– F1 family applicants get a stable window for document gathering and scheduling (useful for coordinating with school or work).
Unchanged legal and numerical limits
Several legal and numerical caps remained the same between November and December:
– Worldwide annual limits:
– Family-sponsored preferences: 226,000
– Employment-based preferences: at least 140,000
– Per-country cap: 7% of combined annual totals
– 2% limit for dependent areas
– NACARA-related reductions continue to shape margins:
– Approximate 5,000 cap on Employment Third Preference “Other Workers”
– Reduction of about 150 for FY 2026 in that category
– Diversity Visa annual limit remains near 52,000 due to NACARA and the NDAA (not the original 55,000)
None of these policy anchors shifted between November and December.
Clean list of categories that stayed completely unchanged (November → December)
- Family filing chart: F1 (all chargeability areas)
- Employment Final Action & Filing charts: EB-5 set-asides — Rural (20%), High Unemployment (10%), Infrastructure (2%)
- Employment filing chart: EB-1
- Diversity Visa (DV-2026): Asia (with Nepal unchanged), Europe, North America (Bahamas), Oceania, South America and the Caribbean, Egypt’s Africa exception
Everything else showed at least a small change in one column and therefore is not “completely unchanged” by the strict standard used by Visa Bulletin analysts.
Important reminder: The State Department’s monthly release remains the single official source for these figures. Applicants and attorneys should always review both charts and the Diversity Visa section to confirm current cut-off dates, “C” for Current, and any Unavailable lines.
For the official figures, consult the U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html.
In short, the December update didn’t rewrite the year’s trendlines, but it did confirm that several pockets—chiefly the EB-5 set-asides and a few filing and DV lines—held steady across consecutive months, giving applicants in those lanes room to plan with confidence.
This Article in a Nutshell
The December 2025 Visa Bulletin showed notable continuity from November: EB-5 set-asides stayed Current across both Final Action and Filing charts, EB-1 filing dates remained unchanged, and the F1 family Dates for Filing were identical across chargeability areas. Most Diversity Visa regions were steady except for Algeria’s advance. Other family and employment lines experienced small shifts. This stability offers practical benefits for applicants planning fees, medicals, and document collection.
