Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of State published the Visa Bulletin for August 2025 (see here), showing an encouraging 685-day advancement in the Unreserved EB-5 Final Action Date for pre-RIA Chinese applicants and a 198-day advancement for pre-RIA Indian applicants. Additionally, all three Reserved EB-5 categories remain “Current” for the upcoming month.
The Unreserved EB-5 Final Action Dates have experienced a roller-coaster movement throughout FY2025. In the first month of the fiscal year, cutoff dates advanced by 213 days for pre-RIA investors from China and 396 days for pre-RIA investors from India (see here). However, in April, the State Department stated that “increased demand and number use by China and India in the EB-5 Unreserved visa categories, combined with increased Rest of World demand and number use, made it necessary to retrogress the final action dates.” As a result, the cutoff dates retrogressed sharply, moving back 905 days for China and 792 days for India (see here). In May, India’s cutoff date retrogressed further by 184 days (see here).
Now in the upcoming August, with only two full months remaining in FY2025, the State Department advanced the Unreserved EB-5 Final Action Date by 685 days for pre-RIA Chinese applicants, citing that visa usage from Rest of World (ROW) applicants “has not materialized to the degree that was expected.” Additionally, pre-RIA Indian applicants also saw a 198-day advancement in August, thanks to additional visa numbers made available from unused family-based immigration categories. See below for the State Department’s August Visa Bulletin notes on EB-5 visa availability for China and India under the Unreserved category:
F. VISA AVAILABILITY IN THE EMPLOYMENT-BASED FIFTH PREFERENCE (EB-5) UNRESERVED CATEGORY FOR CHINA
In the April 2025 Visa Bulletin, the EB-5 Unreserved final action date for China was retrogressed due to high Rest of World demand. In the months that followed, EB-5 number use has not materialized to the degree that was expected. Consequently, and in accordance with INA 202(a)(5), the EB-5 Unreserved final action dates for China has advanced to allow continued EB-5 Unreserved number use. Note that if at any time the EB-5 Unreserved annual limit were reached, it would be necessary to immediately make the preference category “unavailable”, and no further requests for numbers would be honored.
G. VISA AVAILABILITY IN THE EMPLOYMENT-BASED FIFTH PREFERENCE (EB-5) UNRESERVED CATEGORY FOR INDIA
In the April 2025 Visa Bulletin, the EB-5 Unreserved final action date for India was retrogressed due to high demand. It is expected that India will have unused family sponsored preference numbers that, under INA 202(a)(2), can fall down for use in the employment-based categories, including EB-5 Unreserved. As a result, the final action date for EB-5 Unreserved has been advanced to use these available numbers. Note that if at any time the EB-5 Unreserved annual limit were reached, it would be necessary to immediately make the preference category “unavailable”, and no further requests for numbers would be honored.
Overall, as illustrated in the figure below, the Final Action Date for pre-RIA Chinese applicants retrogressed by 220 days in FY2025 — from July 15, 2016 to December 8, 2015. For pre-RIA Indian applicants, the Final Action Date moved back by 778 days (from January 1, 2022 to November 15, 2019) in the current fiscal year. See the figure below for a visual summary of the cumulative Unreserved EB-5 cut-off date movements between October 2024 and August 2025:
EB-5 FINAL ACTION DATES (CHART A)
The August Visa Bulletin revealed the following final action dates for EB-5 visa applicants:
-
Unreserved EB-5 Visa Categories:
- China: December 8, 2015 (advanced 685 days from the July Visa Bulletin)
- India: November 15, 2019 (advanced 198 days from the July Visa Bulletin)
- All Other Countries: “Current”
-
Reserved EB-5 Visa Categories:
- All Countries: “Current”
(Chart A on the August 2025 Visa Bulletin)
EB-5 DATES FOR FILING (CHART B)
All Reserved EB-5 categories will remain “current” across the board, confirming that there will NOT be any cutoff dates for applicants in these categories in August.
For the Unreserved EB-5 category, the Dates for Filing remain “current” for all applicants in the current month, except for those born in China or India:
- For Chinese applicants: October 1, 2016 (unchanged from the July Visa Bulletin);.
- For Indian applicants: April 1, 2022 (unchanged from July June Visa Bulletin).
(Chart B on the August 2025 Visa Bulletin)
USCIS AOS Filing Charts for August 2025
According to USCIS, in August, the agency will continue to accept only Chart A (Final Action Dates) for employment-based adjustment of status (AOS) applications, meaning the window to use Chart B (Dates for Filing) will remain closed in the upcoming month. See below for USCIS’ announcement on its website:
Next Month’s Adjustment of Status Filing Charts
For Family-Sponsored Filings:
For all family-sponsored preference categories, you must use the Dates for Filing chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin for August 2025.
For Employment-Based Preference Filings:
For all employment-based preference categories, you must use the Final Action Dates chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin for August 2025.
Have you explored IIUSA’s EB-5 Visa Data Dashboard? This powerful tool offers comprehensive insights into EB-5 visa usage, including:
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Stay informed with the latest data to support your decision-making and analysis.
