The United States Department of State released the December 2025 Visa Bulletin, revealing minimal progress for Indian green card applicants across most categories. While employment-based categories show modest forward movement, family-sponsored categories remain largely stagnant, continuing a pattern of prolonged waiting periods that have characterized Indian immigration for years.
For the thousands of Indian nationals waiting in the green card queue, this bulletin offers little immediate relief but provides crucial information for planning immigration timelines and understanding current processing status. This comprehensive guide breaks down every category, explaining what the numbers mean and how they affect your immigration journey.
Understanding the Visa Bulletin: Essential Concepts
Before diving into specific categories, it’s crucial to understand how the Visa Bulletin functions and what its two key sections mean for your application timeline.
What is the Visa Bulletin?
The Visa Bulletin serves as the official monthly publication from the Department of State that determines visa availability for individuals seeking to immigrate to the United States. It functions as a queue management system, tracking when applicants can file their paperwork and when they can expect final processing based on their priority date—the date when their petition was originally filed.
Two Critical Date Categories
Final Action Dates: These dates represent when the government is actually processing and approving applications. If your priority date is earlier than the Final Action Date listed for your category and country, your case may be adjudicated and you could receive your green card. These dates determine the actual timeline for receiving permanent residency.
Dates for Filing: These dates indicate when applicants can submit their adjustment of status (Form I-485) or immigrant visa applications, even though final processing may still be months or years away. Filing early allows applicants to obtain work authorization (EAD) and travel documents (Advance Parole) while waiting for their green card, providing significant quality-of-life benefits during the waiting period.
Why India Faces Longer Wait Times
Indian applicants face disproportionately longer wait times due to per-country limitations in U.S. immigration law. Regardless of how many qualified applicants come from a particular country, no single nation can receive more than 7% of the total annual allocation for any visa category. Given India’s large population and high number of skilled professionals seeking U.S. immigration, this creates severe backlogs that can extend waiting periods by years or even decades in some categories.
Family-Sponsored Green Cards: December 2025 Update
Family-sponsored immigration allows U.S. citizens and permanent residents to petition for their relatives to receive green cards. However, the December 2025 bulletin shows virtually no movement for Indian applicants in this category.
Final Action Dates for Family-Sponsored Categories
First Preference (F1) – Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens
- Current Date: November 8, 2016 (unchanged)
- This means only applicants whose petitions were filed before November 8, 2016, are currently being processed
- Current wait time: Over 9 years from petition filing to green card approval
Second Preference 2A (F2A) – Spouses and Minor Children of Permanent Residents
- Current Date: February 1, 2024 (unchanged)
- This relatively recent date indicates F2A remains the fastest-moving family category
- Current wait time: Approximately 1.5-2 years
Second Preference 2B (F2B) – Unmarried Adult Sons and Daughters of Permanent Residents
- Current Date: December 1, 2016 (unchanged)
- Similar to F1, this category faces extended delays
- Current wait time: Over 8 years
Third Preference (F3) – Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens
- Current Date: September 8, 2011 (unchanged)
- This represents one of the longest waits in family-based immigration
- Current wait time: Over 14 years
Fourth Preference (F4) – Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens
- Current Date: November 1, 2006 (unchanged)
- The longest wait among all family categories
- Current wait time: Nearly 19 years
Dates for Filing – Family-Sponsored Categories
The Dates for Filing chart shows only one change for Indian applicants:
F2A Dates for Filing
- Advanced to: November 22, 2025 (from October 22, 2025)
- This one-month advancement allows slightly more recent applicants to file their adjustment of status paperwork
All other categories (F1, F2B, F3, F4) remain unchanged in the Dates for Filing chart, indicating no expansion in who can submit applications this month.
What This Means for Indian Families
The stagnation in family-sponsored categories creates significant challenges for Indian families. Spouses separated by immigration status may wait years for reunification. Adult children age out of eligibility as they wait. Elderly parents may not live to see their immigration cases resolved.
The F2A category’s relative currency (February 2024) offers the brightest spot, suggesting that permanent residents can reunite with spouses and minor children within approximately two years—still a long wait, but manageable compared to other categories.
Employment-Based Green Cards: Modest Progress for Indian Applicants
Employment-based categories showed more movement than family-sponsored categories in the December 2025 bulletin, though progress remains incremental given the massive backlogs.
Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Categories
EB-1: Priority Workers (Extraordinary Ability, Outstanding Professors/Researchers, Multinational Executives)
- Current Date: March 15, 2022 (advanced from February 15, 2022)
- Movement: One month forward
- Current wait time: Approximately 3.5 years
- Analysis: This modest one-month advancement reflects steady but slow processing. EB-1 historically moved quickly, but increased demand from Indian applicants—particularly those upgrading from EB-2 or EB-3—has created backlogs even in this premium category.
EB-2: Advanced Degree Professionals or Exceptional Ability
- Current Date: May 15, 2013 (advanced from April 1, 2013)
- Movement: 1.5 months forward
- Current wait time: Over 12 years
- Analysis: The EB-2 category faces some of the longest waits for Indian nationals. With hundreds of thousands of Indian technology professionals holding advanced degrees, this category experiences severe oversubscription. The 1.5-month advancement represents typical recent progress rates—meaningful for individual applicants near the cutoff, but indicative of decade-plus waits for recent filers.
EB-3: Skilled Workers, Professionals
- Current Date: September 22, 2013 (advanced from August 22, 2013)
- Movement: One month forward
- Current wait time: Over 12 years
- Analysis: EB-3 movement parallels EB-2, with both categories processing applications from early 2013. Some applicants strategically downgrade from EB-2 to EB-3 if their EB-3 priority date would be earlier, though the December bulletin shows minimal advantage to this strategy currently.
EB-3 Other Workers (Unskilled Labor)
- Current Date: September 1, 2013 (advanced from August 22, 2013)
- Movement: Approximately 10 days forward
- Current wait time: Over 12 years
- Analysis: This subcategory moves slightly slower than skilled EB-3, reflecting its smaller annual allocation (10,000 visas worldwide).
EB-4: Certain Special Immigrants (Religious Workers, etc.)
- Current Date: September 1, 2020 (advanced from July 1, 2020)
- Movement: Two months forward
- Current wait time: Approximately 5 years
- Analysis: EB-4 categories experience less demand from Indian applicants than EB-2/EB-3, resulting in faster movement and shorter overall waits.
EB-5: Immigrant Investors
- Unreserved Category: July 1, 2021 (advanced from February 1, 2021)
- Movement: Five months forward—the largest jump in any employment category
- Current wait time: Approximately 4 years
- Analysis: This significant movement reflects reduced demand in EB-5 following program changes and the availability of set-aside categories that remain current.
EB-5 Set-Aside Categories (Rural, High Unemployment, Infrastructure):
- All remain “Current”
- Meaning: No backlog; applicants can file immediately
- Analysis: These targeted categories, established by recent immigration reforms, continue to have available visa numbers, making them attractive options for qualifying investors.
Dates for Filing – Employment-Based Categories
The Dates for Filing remained unchanged across all employment-based categories for Indian applicants in December 2025:
- EB-1: April 15, 2023
- EB-2: December 1, 2013
- EB-3: August 15, 2014
- EB-3 Other Workers: August 15, 2014
- EB-4: February 15, 2021
- EB-5 Unreserved: April 1, 2022
- EB-5 Set-Asides: Current
The lack of movement in filing dates means no additional applicants gained eligibility to submit their I-485 adjustment of status applications this month beyond those already eligible in November.
Strategic Implications for Indian Green Card Applicants
For Those Currently Waiting
Monitor Both Date Charts: Pay attention to both Final Action Dates (when you’ll actually get your green card) and Dates for Filing (when you can submit your I-485 for work/travel benefits).
Consider EB-1 Upgrade: If you qualify for EB-1 through extraordinary ability or as an outstanding researcher, filing a new petition could reduce your wait from 12+ years to approximately 3-4 years. Consult with an immigration attorney to evaluate eligibility.
Evaluate EB-2 NIW: National Interest Waiver (NIW) applications under EB-2 don’t require employer sponsorship, providing more flexibility. However, you’ll still face the same priority date backlogs.
Explore EB-5 Set-Asides: If you have investment capital available, the rural, high unemployment, or infrastructure set-aside categories offer current priority dates, meaning significantly faster processing than employment-based petitions.
For Families in Waiting
Plan for Long Timelines: Family reunification through immigration will likely take years. Consider alternative strategies such as visitor visas for temporary family visits (understanding that demonstrating non-immigrant intent becomes crucial).
Understand Aging Out: Children lose derivative beneficiary status when they turn 21. The Child Status Protection Act provides some protection, but families should work with immigration attorneys to understand how aging out might affect their cases.
Consider Adjustment to F2A: If waiting in F1, F2B, F3, or F4, and if the petitioning relative can naturalize to U.S. citizenship, this may allow movement to a faster category—though not always, as some categories become slower after citizenship.
Why Movement Remains Slow: Understanding the Numbers
The fiscal year limit for family-sponsored preference immigrants is set at 226,000 visas, with specific allocations for each preference category. Employment-based categories have similar annual limitations.
However, the 7% per-country cap means India can receive maximum 15,820 family-sponsored visas (7% of 226,000) annually, regardless of demand. With hundreds of thousands of Indian nationals in the queue, simple mathematics reveals that current wait times will persist or worsen without legislative reform.
Congress has periodically considered eliminating or raising per-country caps, but as of December 2025, no such legislation has passed.
Recent Legislative and Policy Context
Government Shutdown Impact: The 43-day government shutdown that ended recently created significant backlogs in processing across all immigration categories. While the shutdown has concluded, the backlog effects will continue affecting processing times for months.
USCIS Processing Delays: Beyond priority date movements, actual adjudication times at USCIS have increased, meaning even applicants with current priority dates may face additional delays in receiving final approvals.
Premium Processing Availability: USCIS continues offering premium processing for certain petition types, allowing faster adjudication for those willing to pay additional fees—though this doesn’t affect priority date waits.
What to Watch in Coming Months
January 2026 Bulletin: Historical patterns suggest modest continued movement in employment-based categories, with family categories likely remaining stagnant.
Fiscal Year Transitions: October marks the beginning of the new fiscal year when annual visa allocations reset. This typically produces more significant movement in the October and November bulletins.
Legislative Reform Prospects: Immigration reform discussions continue in Congress, though comprehensive legislation remains politically challenging. Smaller, targeted reforms to per-country caps or specific categories may have better chances.
Practical Next Steps for Applicants
- Check Your Priority Date: Confirm your exact priority date from your I-140 approval notice or immigrant petition.
- Monitor Monthly Bulletins: The Visa Bulletin updates monthly, usually published in the middle of the month for the following month.
- Prepare Documentation: Even if your priority date isn’t current yet, begin gathering documentation for your eventual I-485 filing—medical exams, birth certificates, police certificates, financial documents.
- Consult Immigration Counsel: Each case has unique circumstances. An experienced immigration attorney can provide personalized guidance based on your specific situation.
- Maintain Status: Ensure continuous legal status in the U.S. Any gaps or violations can jeopardize your eventual green card application.
- Consider All Options: Explore all potential pathways to permanent residency, including category upgrades, NIW petitions, or investor visas if applicable.
Conclusion: Patience and Planning Required
The December 2025 Visa Bulletin confirms what many Indian green card applicants already know: the road to permanent residency requires extraordinary patience. While employment-based categories showed modest movement and family-sponsored categories remained largely stagnant, the fundamental challenge—overwhelming demand constrained by per-country limitations—persists.
For Indian applicants, successful navigation of this system requires not just patience, but strategic planning, awareness of all available options, and realistic expectations about timelines. While the December bulletin offers limited immediate relief, understanding these numbers empowers applicants to make informed decisions about their immigration journey.
The wait continues, but with proper preparation and realistic planning, Indian applicants can eventually navigate this complex system to achieve their goal of U.S. permanent residency.
