U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has continued to allow the use of Dates for Filing, as in the previous month, for the filing of employment-based (EB) adjustment of status applications (Form I-485) for December 2025. USCIS is instructing applicants to use the Dates for Filing of Employment-Based Visa Applications chart from the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for December 2025.
This maintains the agency’s practice from the previous month, where the Dates for Filing chart was also authorized for use in November 2025. This allows more applicants to submit their adjustment of status paperwork sooner than if the agency had required the use of the more conservative Final Action Dates chart.
The Dates for Filing charts for employment-based visas demonstrate a high degree of stability, with most cut-off dates remaining unchanged from November to December 2025. The Dates for Filing for the EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, and Other Worker categories showed no movement for all countries of chargeability, including China-mainland born, India, Mexico, and the Philippines, holding steady across all non-reserved subcategories. For example, the critical cut-off dates for Indian nationals in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories remained at 01DEC13 and 15AUG14, respectively, for both months. Similarly, the EB-2 date for China-mainland born remained at 01DEC21.
The primary movement in the non-reserved employment categories was observed in the Employment-Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) Unreserved category for China-mainland born applicants. This date advanced by three weeks, moving from July 1, 2016 (01JUL16) in the November Bulletin to July 22, 2016 (22JUL16) in the December Bulletin. All other EB-5 Unreserved areas, along with the Rural, High Unemployment, and Infrastructure set-aside categories, remain Current.
A significant administrative change was also confirmed for the Employment Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers (SR) category. This category was listed as “U” (Unavailable) in the November 2025 Visa Bulletin. However, the December Visa Bulletin confirms that this category has been extended via H.R. 5371, signed on November 12, 2025, with an expiration date of January 30, 2026. As a result of this legislative extension, the SR category’s Dates for Filing is now listed as 15FEB21 for all countries in the December 2025 Visa Bulletin, matching the date for the standard EB-4 category.
The Final Action Dates chart for December 2025 showed substantial forward movement across nearly all employment-based categories compared to November. The EB-2 category saw significant advancements, with China-mainland born and All Other Areas both moving forward by two months to June 1, 2021, and February 1, 2024, respectively.
The heavily backlogged India EB-2 date advanced by one month and two weeks to May 15, 2013. In the EB-1 category, both oversubscribed countries, India and China-mainland born, advanced by one month to March 15, 2022, and January 22, 2023, respectively. The EB-3 category also experienced forward movement, with India and China-mainland born advancing by one month, to September 22, 2013, and April 1, 2021, respectively.
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Kishor Panthi
View More PostsKishor Panthi is the founder and editor-in-chief of Khasokhas and NepYork. He is the author of three books, “Kampan,” "UNTRANSLATABLE" and “Zero Mile.” He writes about social issues, immigration, and politics.
