The February visa bulletin introduced slight changes compared to January 2025. USCIS announced that for February 2025, applicants in all family-sponsored preference categories must use the Dates for Filing chart, while those in employment-based preference categories must use the Final Action Dates chart. According to the February 2025 visa bulletin, the priority date for the Second preference (F2A) category—spouses and children (unmarried and under 21 years old) of lawful permanent residents—remains at July 15, 2024. However, for employment-based filings, the Final Action Dates chart will apply, and there is notable retrogression in several categories. The EB2 Final Action Date has moved back to April 1, 2023, from August 1, 2023, while the EB3 Final Action Date has shifted to December 1, 2022, from March 1, 2023. Additionally, the Final Action Date for Other Workers has retrogressed to December 8, 2020, from May 22, 2021. This month’s visa bulletin also updates the Diversity Immigrant category Rank cut-off number for Europe in March, which has increased by 1,000, now standing at 13,000.
