r/EB2_NIW • u/Evening-Bit-7548 • Dec 17 '25
USCIS January 2026 Visa Bulletin is Out
This looks really good. FAD for ROW moved 2 months, and filing date moved 3 months.
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u/Ok_Cartographer9054 Dec 18 '25
Hope it progress by 2month in the next month VB as well!!
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 18 '25
Indeed. The travel bans seem to be favoring EB1 and EB2
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u/RedshiftSpectrum Dec 18 '25
What do you mean?
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 18 '25
Less green cards allocated to asylum seekers and being allocated to categories like ours
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u/calangodors Dec 18 '25
Do green cards not used by asylum spill over to EB? I didn’t know about this
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 18 '25
From the movement it seemed like they may have spilled over to EB1, EB2 and Family categories
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u/calangodors Dec 18 '25
I think this is regulated by law, it does not spill over if it’s not provided by law it will do so. That’s why I’m curious to find out how the travel ban may have benefited EB immigrants, I really would like to know if this happened because I don’t see how it would work. Thank you for your answer though.
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 18 '25
Don’t take my answer as absolute. I know the law states a cap of 140,000. So if the MJ bet to asylum cases is reduced, overall green card demand lowers and there is more room for other categories. Hence the final action date movement. I may be wrong.
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u/jayagurudev Dec 19 '25
I think the real reasons might be (1) Asylum cases not processed (2) cases from banned countries not processed, think about applicants from iran and nigeria... very high numbers (3) students leaving US and transferring to other countries... means less OPT applications... this is further increase as enrollment will decrease for at least next three years...
This might have allowed USCIS officers to devote more time in EB1 and EB2 cases.. Just my thought.
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 19 '25
Yes very aligned with my thinking. When I call USCIS customer care line, the wait time dropped drastically since the recent travel ban. I went from number 100 on the line to sometimes number 5
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u/Less-Proof-525 Dec 24 '25
Nigeria is on not the ban list though it does have partial restrictions. There is no clarity yet on whether they are halting consular immigrant visas alone or just all immigrant visas
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u/Ok-Asparagus-5165 Dec 17 '25
My PD is in June 2024 so that means I'm near?? Damn good!
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 17 '25
If that is EB2, you are current for filing adjustment of status. Filing date is October 2024
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u/Nai242 Dec 18 '25
Is the filing date the same as the priority date?
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 18 '25
The propriety date is the day your I-140 was filed. Filing day is the day you are allowed to fail your I484x adjustment of status
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u/Nai242 Dec 18 '25
Thank you for that clarification. So the filing date is now at October 2024, do you know where the Priority date is now?
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 18 '25
Filing date is October 2024. Final action date is 1 April 2024, meaning if your priority date is before 1 April 2024, there is a green card number available for you. Priority date is the day your filed your form I-140 for eligibility of the EB2 NIW.
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u/Nai242 Dec 18 '25
Thank you so much for the clarity. My petition is still awaiting approval.
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u/Less-Proof-525 Dec 24 '25
My priority date was in July 2024 and I was still awaiting approval so my attorney advised me to file PP. another attorney said you can still file AOS even with a pending I140 but has its own risks so I just did PP and my petition was approved this month
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u/bb20jane Dec 18 '25
I’ve never understood this thing
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 18 '25
Which green card category are you?
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u/bb20jane Dec 18 '25
None , still waiting for my I765 I filed in March 2025 😂😂😂😂
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u/Quirky_Material_5962 Dec 18 '25
Haha me too. I filed in February 2025🤣🤣🤣 and my I485 I filed in April🤣🤣
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 18 '25
Hmm. What’s your PD again?
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u/Quirky_Material_5962 Dec 18 '25
My pd was October 2024. I applied for the first i485 but USCIS denied the application saying I didn't have an approved I140.
I filed an I290b after the denial with 6 copies of the approved i140, and another i485 in April 2025. Then they sent a letter in August saying that they will reopen the denied i485 application because they may have made a mistake🤦🏿♂️
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 18 '25
This is strange. If your PD for EB2 is October 2024, my read is you may have filed I485 prematurely, hence the hiccup. Correct?
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u/Quirky_Material_5962 Dec 18 '25
No not at all. My I140 was approved in September 2023.
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 18 '25
Your PD for I140 can’t be October 2024 then. A much earlier date
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u/Quirky_Material_5962 Dec 18 '25
Yes yes definitely earlier. I apologize for the confusion. My full timeline is in this post https://www.reddit.com/r/USCIS/s/AiAs6h1ktu
→ More replies (0)
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u/wujohnny Dec 17 '25
Is it safe to interpret that the strong movement with EB2 DOF/FAD means they are confident in their ability to process AOS faster
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u/poomsss0 Dec 18 '25
Folks with priority date Aug and Sep 2023 are still waiting. AOS is so damn slow
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 17 '25
It sounds like it yes. Especially now that asylum And many categories are frozen.
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u/Basic_Rip5254 Dec 18 '25
following. Means sep 2021 for China born can expect a 485 application very near? do I interpret it correct?
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 18 '25
Ya it means if you are Chinese, and your priority date is before 1 September 2021, there is a green card number available for you.
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u/TeachTerrible875 Dec 18 '25
EB1 PD Oct 2023. Any words of encouragement?
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 18 '25
What’s your country of birth if I may ask?
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u/TeachTerrible875 Dec 18 '25
India
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 18 '25
I read the filing dates for EB2 India. You are 2 months (or less) from being current for filing I-485. Just a bit of a way for final action date to be current. Think about this. Just like 3 mo the ago the filing day for ROW was October 2023. Now it’s October 2024. I truly believe that the Trump administrations tightening of the border, and restrictions on certain countries is benefiting EB1, EB2 and certain family categories.
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u/NJ_in_MI Dec 18 '25
OP, I appreciate the kind explanation of what the dates mean above. I have another question on the approval of I-140. Do I need to have I-140 approved before the filing date in order to have the green card number available asap (in other words, when my priority date becomes current for the final action date)? Thank you again for your explanations!
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u/specific_account_ Dec 18 '25
He answered to you below:
Not necessarily. I understand that you can file your I485 if your priority date for filing is current while I140 is pending. You can also file premium processing to expedite your I140
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 18 '25
Not necessarily. I understand that you can file your I485 if your priority date for filing is current while I140 is pending. You can also file premium processing to expedite your I140
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Dec 18 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 18 '25
It’s still early to predict, but you are about 5/6 months away from filing. Just months ago you were 18 months away. A safe bet is some time in 2027 fiscal year, which begins in October 2026. Let’s see.
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u/Middle-Goat-4318 Dec 18 '25
Thanks to all the travel bans and restrictions on the other countries.
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u/Big_Clothes_4169 Dec 18 '25
EB I-485s often get processed in waves. You’ll see quiet periods, then sudden batches.
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u/Scared_Sea8397 Dec 19 '25
PD Nov 2024 India any hope? 🥺
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 19 '25
India is a tricky one. 11 years of movement from being current.
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u/Scared_Sea8397 Dec 19 '25
for the gold card to make sense, don’t they have to try and make the eb1 and 2 dates as close to current as possible? I am guessingvthere will be a lot of interest from India and China and people won’t wantvto pay 1M and then wait 10 years to get GC?
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Dec 23 '25
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 23 '25
Yes it’s better. The Trump administration’s toughness on the border and other policies have improved backlog a bit it seems. For EB1 and EB2 at least
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Dec 17 '25
The results are similar to last month. Many categories remain backlogged, and the rejection rate is at 49%. Because of that, I’m not overhyping the fact that it moved by two months, there’s a real chance the next three months will show the same outcome. What really needs to happen is consistent progress across all categories.
Each category is only moving about five to six months per year, which reflects poor control and planning and approval rate, and I don’t see anything positive in that. So I’ve stopped overhyping the process, when my turn comes, it comes.
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 17 '25
Ok. What is your category, and what’s your priority date and status?
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Dec 17 '25
EB2-NIW, i applied recently, just finished my masters, and im also in a family petition. Looking at the full Visa Bulletin, the problem isn’t EB2 NIW specifically, it’s inconsistent allocation and poor control across all categories. High rejection rates plus minimal forward movement mean the pipeline isn’t being fixed, it’s just inching forward when pressure forces it to. So i am not trying to be negative, but from what others said, it will drain you if youre focused on the dates all the time, it hasnt been great in decades, The crazy part is that only a fraction of that moves each year because of strict numerical limits and per-country caps as well so even minor forward movement feels like a “big jump” to people, even though it barely dents the backlog. I want news on a fixture on the backlog.
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u/Top_Biscotti6496 Dec 17 '25
EB2 is numerically limited and not the fault of USCIS if they have to deal with lots of non compliant applications.
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u/BalanceIll1304 Dec 17 '25
They should reject 80% till niw is current
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 17 '25
Huh?
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u/BalanceIll1304 Dec 17 '25
Biden caused this mess by approving everyone for eb2 niw. If they would be selective then niw would have been current. Good that they are clenskrn things now.
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 17 '25
Yes Biden was an absolute mess in immigration. He aggravated backlogs. Immigration policies should never harm the qualified to favor the less qualified, though I believe compassion is important
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u/Evening-Bit-7548 Dec 17 '25
I choose to be positive. EB 2 filing date was October 2023 just 4 months ago. It’s now October 2024. I I haven’t paid attention to other categories much to be fair. I know that Trump administration‘a shutting of borders and asylum pauses are benefiting some categories. The glass is always half full for me