Updated September 15, 2025
The U.S. government just announced that for the month of October 2025, USCIS will use the Filing Dates chart, not the Final Action Dates chart, to determine who can file for Adjustment of Status.
This is important because the Filing Dates chart typically runs much further ahead, meaning thousands of people who were previously stuck waiting in line can now file their green card applications sooner.
For EB-1 especially, this shift is dramatic: the Filing Date for EB-1 for India and China jumped more than a year compared to the Final Action Date. That opens the door for waves of applicants to submit their I-485s, gain work and travel authorization, and secure status protections while their green cards are pending.
More Details to Come
Manifest Law will provide a deeper analysis of the October Visa Bulletin and what it means for you soon. In the meantime, please reach out to us if you’re ready to begin your adjustment of status process (or explore upgrading to an EB-1A from an EB-2 or EB-3).
You can also register for our October Visa Bulletin Q&A here, happening LIVE with Principal Immigration Attorney Nicole Gunara on Thursday, September 18 at 6pm EST.
October Visa Bulletin: Filing Dates for Employment-Based Categories
You can read the full October Visa Bulletin here, but for a quick overview, we've provided the Filing Date charts for the employment-based preference categories below:
EB-1
| Country | Filing Date(Sept. 2025) | Filing Date(Oct. 2025) | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Other Areas | Current | Current | No Change |
| China | 1-Jan -23 | 15-May-23 | + 135 days |
| India | 15-Apr-22 | 15-Apr-23 | + 1 year |
| Mexico | Current | Current | No Change |
| Phillipines | Current | Current | No Change |
EB-2
| Country | Filing Date(Sept. 2025) | Filing Date(Oct. 2025) | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Other Areas | 15-Nov-23 | 15-Jul-24 | + 8 months |
| China | 1-Jan-21 | 1-Dec-21 | + 11 months |
| India | 1-Feb-13 | 1-Dec-13 | + 10 months |
| Mexico | 15-Nov-23 | 15-Jul-24 | + 8 months |
| Phillipines | 15-Nov-23 | 15-Jul-24 | + 8 months |
EB-3
| Country | Filing Date(Sept. 2025) | Filing Date(Oct. 2025) | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Other Areas | 1-May-23 | 1-Jul-23 | + 2 months |
| China | 22-Dec-20 | 1-Jan-22 | + 376 days |
| India | 8-Jun-13 | 15-Aug-14 | + 434 days |
| Mexico | 1-May-23 | 1-Jul-23 | + 2 months |
| Phillipines | 1-May-23 | 1-Jul-23 | + 2 months |
Other Workers
| Country | Filing Date(Sept. 2025) | Filing Date(Oct. 2025) | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Other Areas | 22-Jul-21 | 1-Dec-21 | + 133 days |
| China | 1-Jan-18 | 1-Oct-18 | + 9 months |
| India | 8-Jun-13 | 15-Aug-14 | + 434 days |
| Mexico | 22-Jul-21 | 1-Dec-21 | + 133 days |
| Phillipines | 22-Jul-21 | 1-Dec-21 | + 133 days |
EB-4 “special immigrants” category
| Country | Filing Date(Sept. 2025) | Filing Date(Oct. 2025) | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Other Areas | 1-Feb-21 | February 15, 2021 | + 2 weeks |
| China | 1-Feb-21 | 15-Feb-21 | + 2 weeks |
| India | 1-Feb-21 | 15-Feb-21 | + 2 weeks |
| Mexico | 1-Feb-21 | 15-Feb-21 | + 2 weeks |
| Phillipines | 1-Feb-21 | 15-Feb-21 | + 2 weeks |
EB-5 “investors” category
| Country | Filing Date(Sept. 2025) | Filing Date(Oct. 2025) | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Other Areas | Current | Current | No change |
| China | 1-Oct-16 | 1-Jul-16 | - 3 months |
| India | 1-Apr-22 | 1-Apr-22 | No change |
| Mexico | Current | Current | No change |
| Phillipines | Current | Current | No change |
About the Author
Content Lead
Haley Davidson is Manifest Law's Content Lead, covering all topics related to U.S. visas and Green Cards. She's passionate about making complex topics easy to understand, like immigration law.
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Princ. Immigration Attorney
Nicole is the founding legal architect and an immigration attorney with extensive experience across extraordinary ability, employment-based, and investment visas. As the founding legal architect, Nicole helped shape the engine of Manifest Law to serve our clients as effectively and strategically as possible.
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