The U.S. Department of State has released the October 2025 Visa Bulletin (see here), revealing the cut-off dates in the first month of the upcoming FY2026.
Reserved EB-5 Visas
All Reserved EB-5 categories, including rural areas, high unemployment areas, and infrastructure projects, remain “current” in October. While tens of thousands of Form I-526E petitions have been filed with USCIS since the enactment of the RIA, case approvals in the past fiscal year have not been sufficient to trigger a cut-off date on visa bulletins in these Reserved categories. In fact, during the first eight months of FY2025, fewer than 10% of available Reserved visas were used via consular processing. Whether cut-off dates will be established in FY2026 will largely depend on the pace of USCIS adjudications of set-aside petitions in the new fiscal year.
Unreserved EB-5 Visas
The October bulletin also reflects mixed movements for pre-RIA EB-5 applicants from China and India:
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India: The final action date advances by 444 days, moving from November 15, 2019, to February 1, 2021.
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China: Despite the addition of new visas in the new fiscal year, the final action date remains unchanged (December 8, 2015), while the Dates for Filing chart retrogresses by 92 days to July 1, 2016.
Even with at least 6,800 new EB-5 visas becoming available next month in the Unreserved category, cut-off dates for both China and India still retrogress compared with the October 2024 Visa Bulletin. Last October, China’s cut-off was July 15, 2016, while India’s was January 1, 2022.
On a positive note, USCIS has confirmed that it will accept the Dates for Filing chart (Chart B) for adjustment of status applications in October. This means, under the new law, qualifying pre-RIA applicants may submit their AOS applications concurrently with requests for employment authorization and advance parole.
EB-5 FINAL ACTION DATES (CHART A)
The October Visa Bulletin revealed the following final action dates for EB-5 visa applicants:
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Unreserved EB-5 Visa Categories:
- China: December 8, 2015 (unchanged from the September Visa Bulletin)
- India: February 1, 2021 (advances by 444 days from the September Visa Bulletin)
- All Other Countries: “Current”
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Reserved EB-5 Visa Categories:
- All Countries: “Current”
(Chart A on the October 2025 Visa Bulletin)
EB-5 DATES FOR FILING (CHART B)
All Reserved EB-5 categories remain “current” across the board, confirming that there are no cutoff dates for applicants in these categories in October.
For the Unreserved EB-5 category, the Dates for Filing remain “current” for all applicants in the first month of FY2026, except for those born in China or India:
- For Chinese applicants: July 1, 2016 (retrogresses by 92 days from the September Visa Bulletin);.
- For Indian applicants: April 1, 2022 (unchanged from the September Visa Bulletin).
(Chart B on the October 2025 Visa Bulletin)
USCIS AOS Filing Charts for October 2025
According to USCIS, in October, the agency will began to accept Chart B (Dates for Filing) for employment-based adjustment of status (AOS) applications. See below for USCIS’ announcement on its website:
Next Month’s Adjustment of Status Filing Charts
For Employment-Based Preference Filings:
For all employment-based preference categories, you must use the Dates for Filing chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin for October 2025.
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