Employment-based immigrationEB Green Card Trends 2025: What Immigrants Should Expect

U.S. Employment-Based Green Cards in 2025: September Update, Caps, Retrogressions & Strategy

The final month of the federal fiscal year often brings tension to employment-based (EB) green card processing. In September 2025, the Department of State (DOS) confirmed that several EB categories reached their annual limits before the month’s end, while USCIS reaffirmed that Adjustment of Status (AOS) filings must follow the Final Action Dates (Chart A) for September. This article consolidates the latest cut-off dates, explains how the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) change from August 15, 2025 affects dependents, and maps practical strategies for the close of FY-2025 and the opening weeks of FY-2026.

Contents

What changed in September 2025

Action point: If your priority date (PD) is current under Chart A, submit AOS immediately to lock in benefits and reduce retrogression exposure. At year-end, issuance may pause until October 1, even without a formal “U” print in the table.

Caps, per-country limits & AOS charts (September 2025)

Understanding the arithmetic behind the Visa Bulletin helps applicants anticipate slow movement and end-of-year constraints. Employment-based allocations are fixed annually, then distributed across preference categories and countries with a 7% per-country ceiling (subject to cross-category and family-to-employment spillovers).

• Worldwide EB limit, FY-2025: 150,037. This is lower than FY-2024 due to smaller family-based spillovers feeding into EB.
• Per-country limit: 7% of combined annual family+employment limits. The notional cap is about 25,620, while practical flow (including spillover calculations) often lands around ~26,862.
• AOS for September 2025: USCIS confirmed usage of Final Action Dates (Chart A) for all EB categories this month.
• CSPA shift: From Aug 15, 2025, new AOS filings calculate a child’s CSPA age under Chart A only. Families who filed earlier remain under the previous interpretation, which could be more favorable in some scenarios.

At the close of a fiscal year, DOS may temporarily halt issuance in categories that exhaust their numbers until October 1.

EB-1 — Priority Workers (Extraordinary Ability, Outstanding Professors/Researchers, Multinational Managers/Executives)

EB-1 remains attractive for highly accomplished applicants, but backlogs persist for India and China. In early September, DOS indicated that the EB-1 annual limit had already been reached — an indicator of robust usage and demand. This does not nullify approvals, but issuance of visa numbers at consulates can pause until FY-2026 begins on October 1.

• Status (Sept VB): China 15-Nov-2022, India 15-Feb-2022, all other countries — Current.
• Risk factors: Year-end number exhaustion may cause temporary pauses for consular issuance; AOS adjudications can continue but cannot result in final approval absent a visa number.
• What to do: If your PD is current, file and complete steps promptly. If you can newly qualify for EB-1 (e.g., significant career elevation, peer-recognized impact, leadership), consider porting from EB-2/EB-3 while retaining your earlier PD.

Strengthen EB-1 evidence with verifiable impact (citations, real-world adoption, patents, major awards, editorial board or reviewer roles), specific expert letters, and clear narrative tying your work to national or global significance.

EB-2 — Advanced Degree / Exceptional Ability (including NIW)

EB-2 is under sustained pressure. “Rest of World” (ROW) experienced a retrogression to September 1, 2023 earlier and that line holds in the September Visa Bulletin. India and China remain far behind due to demand meeting a tight 7% per-country ceiling under a smaller FY-2025 cap. USCIS also confirmed Chart A for AOS this month, so families must reassess their timing under the new CSPA interpretation.

• Status (Sept VB): ROW/Mexico/Philippines 01-Sep-2023; India 01-Jan-2013; China 15-Dec-2020.
• Year-end effect: As numbers are depleted, final issuance may wait for the FY-2026 refresh on October 1; transient “U” designations are possible if DOS needs to signal unavailability explicitly.
• NIW angle: The National Interest Waiver avoids PERM but demands a strong, evidence-rich presentation under the Dhanasar framework (national importance, well-positioned to advance, balance of benefits to the U.S.).
• Inside the U.S.: If you are current under Chart A, file AOS promptly. For dependents approaching 21, the Aug-15 CSPA shift makes precise timing and documentation critical.

Pre-empt RFEs by including market evidence, adoption/usage metrics, third-party attestations, and a tight executive summary aligning your record with the NIW prongs and the USCIS Policy Manual’s final-merits approach.

EB-3 & Other Workers (EW) — Skilled, Professional & Unskilled

EB-3 has moved incrementally for years. India and China carry large queues; ROW tightened in 2025 as overall EB usage neared the annual caps. DOS announced that the EB-3/EW limit was reached on September 9, 2025. Practically, some cases may sit in a holding pattern until numbers refresh on October 1. Employers should keep PERM files clean and audit-ready (job requirements, recruitment logs, business necessity).

• Status (Sept VB): EB-3 ROW/Mexico 01-Apr-2023; Philippines 08-Feb-2023; China 01-Dec-2020; India 22-May-2013.
  EW: ROW/Mexico/Philippines 08-Jul-2021; China 01-May-2017; India 22-May-2013.
• Retrogression risk: If demand outstrips the cap earlier than expected, DOS can retrogress or set “U” to manage number use.
• Strategy: Monitor the October bulletin closely. If your profile now supports EB-1, consider porting and preserve your existing PD.

Use checklists and contemporaneous documentation for PERM: recruitment steps, prevailing wage, and job duties must be consistent and proportionate to business needs to avoid denials and delays.

EB-4 — Certain Special Immigrants

Status: Unavailable through the close of FY-2025. New visa numbers are expected with FY-2026 on October 1. EB-4 is a relatively small preference (~10,000 per year), so even moderate demand can exhaust supply early. Applicants may explore alternative paths where eligible (e.g., EB-1 subcategories or family-sponsored routes).

EB-5 — Investors: Unreserved vs Set-Aside

Since the 2022 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA), EB-5 divides numbers between the main Unreserved pool and Set-Aside sub-categories for Rural (20%), High-Unemployment (10%), and Infrastructure (2%). In September 2025, DOS confirmed that the EB-5 Unreserved annual limit was reached; however, the Set-Aside categories remain Current across countries and often move faster for qualified projects.

• Status (Sept VB): Unreserved — India 15-Nov-2019, China 08-Dec-2015, others Current. Set-Aside (Rural/High-Unemp./Infrastructure) — Current for all.
• Due diligence: Prioritize compliance history, project feasibility, sustainment period requirements, and clear source-of-funds documentation. Set-Aside can be appealing, but integrity and transparency remain paramount.
• Tactical note: For investors from backlogged countries, Set-Aside projects may significantly shorten the wait compared to Unreserved.

Final Action Dates — Employment-Based (September 2025)

How far behind are key cut-offs? (months from September 2025)

2025 Year-End Outlook & Practical Strategy

FAQ: Queue dynamics, filing choices, and timing