Updated November 12, 2026

Visa Bulletin August 2025: USCIS filing charts, priority dates and next steps

For the August 2025 Visa Bulletin, USCIS requires employment-based adjustment of status applicants to use the Final Action Dates chart, while family-sponsored preference applicants use the Dates for Filing chart (uscis.gov, updated July 14, 2025). You can file Form I-485 in August 2025 if your category is marked Current (C) or your priority date is earlier than the cutoff date listed for your preference category and country of birth. Below are both complete August 2025 USCIS filing tables, worked priority date examples, retrogression rules, and a Form I-485 payment checklist.

Which Visa Bulletin chart to use in August 2025

Every month, the Department of State publishes two charts per visa preference category in the Visa Bulletin: Application Final Action Dates (dates when visas may finally be issued) and Dates for Filing Applications (earliest dates when applicants may be able to apply). While the Department of State uses Final Action Dates to issue immigrant visas at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad and Dates for Filing to notify applicants to submit documents to the National Visa Center, USCIS announces within one week of publication which chart applicants inside the United States must use to file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.

USCIS allows the Dates for Filing chart when remaining immigrant visas for the fiscal year exceed known demand based on three data points: documentarily qualified visa applications reported by the Department of State, pending adjustment of status applications at USCIS, and historical adjustment drop-off rates from denials, withdrawals, and abandonments. Unless USCIS indicates otherwise, applicants must use Final Action Dates. One standing exception applies: if a category is current on the Final Action Dates chart, or its Final Action cutoff date is later than its Dates for Filing date, applicants in that category may file using the Final Action Dates chart. If the Department of State revises either chart after publication, USCIS reviews the changes to decide if further action is needed.

For August 2025, USCIS split the chart rules between family and employment categories:

• Family-sponsored preference filings: Use the Dates for Filing chart for August 2025.
• Employment-based preference filings: Use the Final Action Dates chart for August 2025.
• Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens: Visas are unlimited and always available, so spouses of U.S. citizens, unmarried children under 21 of U.S. citizens, parents of U.S. citizens who are at least 21 years old, and qualifying widows or widowers (if the U.S. citizen filed a petition before dying or the survivor petitions within two years of the death) do not wait for a Visa Bulletin cutoff date.
• How to read your chart: Find your visa category in the first column, move right to your country of chargeability (usually your country of birth), and check the entry. If it shows C, or your priority date is earlier than the cutoff date printed, you may file Form I-485 if otherwise eligible.

August 2025 employment-based Final Action Dates chart

Employment-based preference applicants filing Form I-485 with USCIS in August 2025 must use the Final Action Dates chart below. By statute, employment-based preference visas are generally limited to 140,000 per year (which may be exceeded by statute when certain visas from the previous fiscal year were not fully used), divided across subcategories and subject to per-country percentage limits.

When demand is lower than supply for a category and country, the chart shows C, meaning visas are immediately available. When demand exceeds supply, the Department of State considers the category oversubscribed and sets a cutoff date. Both 4th preference special immigrants and Certain Religious Workers show U across every column in August 2025. On the USCIS chart, U means unauthorized, indicating that visa numbers are not authorized for issuance.

August 2025 Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Adjustment of Status Applications (uscis.gov, updated July 2025)

August 2025 family-sponsored Dates for Filing chart

Family-sponsored preference applicants inside the United States use the Dates for Filing chart below to determine Form I-485 eligibility in August 2025. Annual family-sponsored preference visas are generally limited to 226,000 per year.

An approved Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, only demonstrates a qualifying relationship and creates a place in line for visa processing. It does not grant lawful status on its own. Permanent residents filing Form I-130 for a spouse, unmarried child under 21, or unmarried son or daughter of any age must submit proof of permanent resident status, civil relationship evidence (such as a birth certificate, marriage certificate, or divorce decree), and proof of any legal name change. Relatives lawfully inside the United States apply on Form I-485 once a visa number is available, while relatives abroad use consular processing through the National Visa Center.

Each row in the family table covers a specific relationship:

• F1 (First preference): Unmarried adult sons and daughters (21 or older) of U.S. citizens.
• F2A (Second preference 2A): Spouses and unmarried children (under 21) of permanent residents.
• F2B (Second preference 2B): Unmarried adult sons and daughters of permanent residents.
• F3 (Third preference): Married sons and daughters (any age) of U.S. citizens.
• F4 (Fourth preference): Brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens.

August 2025 Dates for Filing for Family-Sponsored Adjustment of Status Applications (uscis.gov, updated July 2025)

How to check your priority date and worked examples

Your priority date appears on Form I-797, Notice of Action, for the immigrant petition filed on your behalf. Which filing action sets your date depends on your preference category:

Notice one strict USCIS cutoff rule: you may file if your category is C or your priority date is earlier than the date on the chart. A priority date that falls on the exact cutoff day is not earlier than the cutoff.

Worked example (invented applicants created by our team to show how the August 2025 USCIS charts work): Suppose Applicant A was born in the Philippines, has an approved EB-2 petition, and holds a labor certification priority date of September 1, 2023. The August 2025 employment-based Final Action chart shows 01SEP23 for EB-2 Philippines. Because September 1, 2023 is not earlier than 01SEP23, Applicant A cannot file Form I-485 in August 2025. Now suppose Applicant B was born in Mexico, is the spouse of a permanent resident (F2A), and holds a Form I-130 priority date of March 15, 2025. The August 2025 family Dates for Filing chart shows 01APR25 for F2A Mexico. Because March 15, 2025 is earlier than April 1, 2025, Applicant B may file Form I-485 in August 2025 if otherwise eligible.

• Family-sponsored petitions: The date Form I-130 (or in certain instances Form I-360) is properly filed with USCIS.
• Employment-based with labor certification: The date the Department of Labor (DOL) accepts the labor certification application for processing. To preserve this priority date, the petitioner must file Form I-140 with USCIS within 180 days of the DOL approval date, or the labor certification is no longer valid.
• Employment-based without labor certification: The date USCIS accepts Form I-140 for processing.
• Fourth preference special immigrants (including religious workers): The date USCIS accepts Form I-360 for processing.
• Fifth preference investors: The date USCIS accepts Form I-526 for processing.

Concurrent filing and maintaining status while you wait

In certain instances, you can file Form I-485 concurrently (at the same time, or while pending) with the underlying Form I-130 or Form I-140 petition. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens can always file concurrently. Family-sponsored and employment-based preference applicants may file concurrently only when their category shows C, when their priority date is earlier than the Final Action Dates cutoff, or when USCIS permits the Dates for Filing chart (as it did for family-sponsored filings in August 2025) and their priority date is earlier than that chart's cutoff.

If your priority date is not eligible for filing in August 2025 and you are inside the United States, you must maintain valid nonimmigrant status. Check your class of admission and authorized stay expiration date in the lower right-hand corner of Form I-94, Arrival-Departure Record, issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or USCIS. Until USCIS approves a request to change status or you properly file an eligible adjustment package, do not assume status is granted, because failing to maintain nonimmigrant status can result in removal or a bar to returning to the United States.

Why cutoff dates retrogress in August and what happens to pending cases

August is the eleventh month of the federal fiscal year, which resets on October 1. Each month, the Department of State adjusts Visa Bulletin cutoff dates on its website after weighing visas used to that point, projected demand, and visas remaining under the annual limit, and updates a recorded cutoff message at 202-663-1541 by the middle of each month.

Visa retrogression occurs when more people apply in a category or country than there are visas available for that month, which typically happens toward the end of the fiscal year as issuance approaches annual limits. On October 1, a new supply of visa numbers becomes available and usually, though not always, returns cutoff dates to where they stood before retrogression.

To adjust status, an immigrant visa must be available to you both at the time of filing Form I-485 and at the time of final adjudication. If you properly filed Form I-485 before your category retrogressed or became U, USCIS holds your case in abeyance until a visa becomes available again:

• Where USCIS holds retrogressed cases: Cases not requiring an in-person interview stay at the USCIS Service Center where you initially filed. Both employment-based and family-sponsored retrogressed cases that have completed a required interview and other processing steps are held at the National Benefits Center (NBC).
• Work and travel benefits: Applicants with a properly filed pending Form I-485 can generally apply for employment authorization on Form I-765 and advance parole travel permission on Form I-131.
• Address changes and follow-up: Report any move to USCIS within 10 days for each family member and each form filed (and with the National Visa Center if applying overseas). If you have not heard from USCIS within 30 days after your visa becomes available again, call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833).

Checklist and electronic payment rules for filing Form I-485

If the August 2025 charts make you eligible to file Form I-485, prevent a lockbox payment rejection before monthly cutoffs shift. USCIS no longer accepts personal checks, business checks, money orders, or cashier's checks for paper filings unless you qualify for an exemption (such as lacking banking access or facing undue hardship under 31 C.F.R. Part 208) and attach Form G-1651, Exemption for Paper Fee Payment, with a U.S. check payable to U.S. Department of Homeland Security dated within the previous 365 days.

Work through this six-step USCIS filing and payment checklist:

• Verify your petition and signatures: Confirm your immigrant petition is approved or eligible for concurrent filing. Applicants adjusting under INA section 245(i) must include Form I-485 Supplement A, and representatives uploading PDF forms online must ensure the applicant's valid signature appears on the PDF.
• Use one electronic payment method per package: For mailed Lockbox or Service Center filings, pay by U.S.-issued Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, or prepaid card using Form G-1450, or by U.S. bank account ACH transfer using Form G-1650. Third-party account holders may sign on your behalf, and you may split one form's fee across multiple cards or U.S. bank accounts, but never mix Form G-1450 and Form G-1650 in one package and never use gift cards or foreign bank cards.
• Separate every form's payment: Place a separate Form G-1450 or Form G-1650 on top of each benefit request (for example, separate forms for Form I-485, Form I-765, and Form I-131). Combining fees into one payment forces USCIS to reject the entire package if a single form has a defect.
• Prevent card declines and ACH debit blocks: Credit cards face a daily per-card Treasury limit, and USCIS will not retry a declined card. USCIS retries an ACH payment once only for insufficient funds, and rejects if you omit personal vs. business, checking vs. savings, or the 9-digit routing number. If your bank account has an ACH debit block, give your bank the Lockbox Agency Location Code before mailing: 7001010330 (Phoenix or Tempe), 7001010331 (Dallas or Lewisville), 7001010335 (Chicago), 7001010390 (Elgin or Carol Stream), 700101031F (Montclair, California), or 700101031J (Bloomington, Minnesota).
• Complete biometrics and interview preparation: Attend your Application Support Center (ASC) biometrics appointment and sign the truth acknowledgment, and reply on time to any request for additional evidence. If scheduled for an interview, you (and your petitioning relative, if applicable) must bring originals of all submitted documents, including expired and unexpired passports, travel documents, and Form I-94.
• Know fee and post-decision rules: Filing and biometric fees are final and nonrefundable, and unfunded or disputed payments after approval can trigger a Notice of Intent to Revoke. Adjustment denials generally cannot be appealed, though eligible applicants may file a motion to reopen or reconsider on Form I-290B.

Practice example

Has anything changed in your employment, marital status, or address since you filed your Form I-485 application?

Give a direct, honest update covering every change since the date you signed Form I-485, especially if your case waited in abeyance during visa retrogression. Before the interview, review your entire Form I-485 copy, your Form I-797 petition approval or receipt notice showing your priority date, and every Form I-94 record. Bring the originals of all supporting documents you submitted with your application, including expired and unexpired passports and travel documents. If you moved, confirm that you reported the new address to USCIS within 10 days and bring a document showing your current residence. If your case is family-sponsored, make sure the petitioning relative attends with you and brings original civil documents proving your qualifying relationship, such as a marriage or birth certificate. State exact dates rather than rough estimates, and hand over updated records calmly when the officer asks.

At a Form I-485 interview, the USCIS officer verifies under oath that you remain eligible in your preference category at the time of final adjudication and that your answers match your written file.

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with the U.S. government or the Department of State.