July 2025 Edition of BDV Newsletter

When the August Visa Bulletin was released, there were some notes at the end that mentioned EB-3 and EB-3 Other Workers (EW) categories.

As we get close to the end of fiscal year 2025, with only August and September remaining, this end note means that there is a possibility that all EB-3 skilled and EB-3 Unskilled visa numbers will be used up and no more visa numbers available.  If this happens, the September Visa Bulletin will show that visas are “Unavailable”, and we will see a “U” in the chart. We are closely monitoring this situation and will provide updates to our clients as we receive them.

We understand visa retrogression is a significant cause of frustration for our clients to confront; it frustrates us as well. It is important to note that retrogression in the State Department's visa bulletin is not an uncommon occurrence. We have seen this happen many times across various visa categories over the past 20 years, as the demand for many types of immigrant visas is significantly higher than the number of visas allocated under the annual quotas. For example, we confronted this situation in the middle of August last year when the State Department announced that the annual allocation of EB-3 Other Worker visas was exhausted; no new EB-3 other worker visas were issued from that point until October 2024.

The disruptions caused by these problems are the primary motivating factor driving BDV's lobbying efforts to fix these problems and help our clients obtain their visas as quickly as possible. BDV's Government Relations team helped draft key provisions on the recently reintroduced DIGNITY Act in the U.S. House of Representatives that specifically addressed these issues. If enacted, that bill's provisions would significantly reduce the visa backlogs that lead to these bouts of retrogression and allow individuals to obtain their visas in less time than they do today.

More importantly, a new fiscal year begins in October 2025. When FY26 commences in two months, new visas numbers will be made available and the “U” that we may see in the visa bulletins over the next two months will be replaced with a new priority date.  Historically, it is also possible that with new visa numbers released in October, USCIS might use the “Dates for Filing” chart, which would allow AOS applicants to use that chart to file their I-485 applications.