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The U.S. State Department released the September 2025 Visa Bulletin. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced filings for employment-based visa preference categories must use the Final Action Dates chart in this bulletin.
Review BAL’s employer’s guide to reading the Visa Bulletin to better understand this monthly report.
Final Action Dates:
EB-1 visa
EB-2 visa
EB-3 visa
Final Action Dates Chart for Employment-Based Visa Applications
Additional Information: There has been a steady increase in both USCIS and Department of State demand patterns for employment-based visas during the fiscal year. As a result, the Visa Office (VO) expects to reach FY-2025 category limits in most employment-based preference categories during August and September. If at any time an annual limit were reached, it would be necessary to immediately make the preference category “unavailable,” and no further requests for numbers would be honored.
The State Department is required to make the determination of the worldwide numerical limitations, as outlined in Section 201(c) and (d) of the INA, on an annual basis. These calculations are based in part on data provided by USCIS regarding the number of immediate relative adjustments in the preceding year and the number of aliens paroled into the United States under Section 212(d)(5) in the second preceding year. Without this information, it is impossible to make an official determination of the annual limits. To avoid delays in processing while waiting for the USCIS data, the VO bases allocations on reasonable estimates of the anticipated amount of visa numbers to be available under the annual limits, in accordance with Section 203(g) of the INA. On July 30, USCIS provided the required data to the VO and the Department of State determined the worldwide employment-based preference limit as 150,037 for FY-2025 in accordance with the terms of Section 201 of the INA.
This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.
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Effective July 1, 2025, the Vietnamese government launched VNeID, a national electronic identification platform, for all foreign nationals holding Temporary Residence Cards (TRCs).
Key Points:
Background Information: VNeID assigns a unique ID number to each foreign national and will soon be mandatory for various administrative processes, including taxes, banking, household registration and corporate procedures. The VNeID data is stored in the VNeID mobile app, which centralizes personal data and other info.
This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice Group.
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) urges 2025 Diversity Visa Program (DV-2025) entrants from Great Britain and its dependent areas to visit the Entrant Status Check and confirm whether their entry has been selected in the DV program.
Additional Information: Great Britain’s dependent areas include: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, St. Helena and Turks and Caicos Islands.
As of Aug. 7, 2025, U.S. Embassy Harare in Zimbabwe has paused all routine visa operations, including applications for immigrant visas and most nonimmigrant visas.
The State Department published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register on Aug. 5 proposing to amend regulations for the Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) Program to “enhance program integrity and reduce fraud.” Public comments are open until Sept. 19, 2025.
Additional Information: The proposed rule is the first step in the regulatory process.
The DV Program, aka the “DV lottery,” provides an opportunity to gain permanent U.S. residency for up to 50,000 immigrants annually from countries with historically low immigration rates to the U.S. The two primary requirements of the DV program are: (1) the petitioner is a native of a low-admission country, and (2) has at least a high school education or its equivalent, or within five years of the date of an application for a visa has two years of work experience in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience. The State Department randomly selects qualified petitioners for further participation in the program.
Update on applications received for requested date of need from April 1, 2025 (fiscal year (FY) 2025 second half of the visa cap):
The Department of Labor reported that as of Aug. 2, a total of 8,928 cases were issued Final Decisions. Certified positions for this period were allocated for 120,470 workers.
Additional Information: Per U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 64,716 supplemental H-2B visas were allocated for the entire fiscal year. Of that total, 5,000 visas were limited to May 15 through Sept. 30 start dates for returning workers who were issued H-2B visas or held H-2B status in FYs 2022, 2023 or 2024, regardless of country of nationality.
These late second half of FY 2025 petitions must request employment start dates from May 15 through Sept. 30, 2025.
The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) recently published technical notes for the Occupational Employment Wage and Statistics (OEWS) update on prevailing wage data for the wage year from July 2025 to June 2026, and will apply the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes effective July 1, 2025.
The technical release notes explain how OFLC will apply the 2018 SOC structure to OEWS wages for the July 2025 to June 2026 wage year.
Updated MSA delineations based on 2020 Census
These updates reflect new Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) delineations based on the 2020 Census and continue to use 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes for wage determinations.
The May 2024 OEWS wage estimates now reflect updated metropolitan statistical area delineations informed by the 2020 Census. These changes include the creation of new MSAs, renaming or restructuring of existing ones and the removal of others from publication. Additionally, some non-MSA areas were added, dropped or modified to align with the new delineations.
Discontinuation of NECTAs in New England
For the New England states, the previously used New England City and Town Areas (NECTAs) have been discontinued. Instead, OEWS now publishes wage data using MSAs and non-MSA areas for these states. This shift aligns New England with the broader national approach to area delineation.
Additional Information: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) generates the OEWS prevailing wage data. The OFLC’s adoption of updated area delineations marks a significant shift in how wage data is geographically categorized, potentially impacting employers and legal professionals involved in labor certification processes. The BLS has made available a comprehensive spreadsheet detailing the area names and definitions used in the May 2024 OEWS estimates, which will serve as the basis for prevailing wage determinations throughout the new wage year. These changes are particularly relevant for stakeholders navigating the PERM process, as geographic wage data plays a critical role in determining appropriate compensation levels for foreign labor. The release also includes updated job zone and education data, offering further granularity for wage assessments and compliance planning.
The detailed release notes can be read here.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published a Federal Register Notice in July announcing a series of immigration fees to be collected under the H.R. 1 Reconciliation Bill. Any form postmarked on or after Aug. 21, 2025, without the proper filing fee will be rejected.
The Department of Labor posted the latest processing times for permanent labor certification (PERM) and prevailing wage determination (PWD) requests.
PERM Processing Times: As of Aug. 1, the department was adjudicating PERM applications filed in April 2024 and earlier and reviewing appeals for reconsideration filed in June 2025 and earlier.
These dates reflect the month and year in which cases were filed and are currently being adjudicated. The Reconsideration Request date for reviewing appeals reflects the month and year in which cases that are currently being reviewed were appealed. For various reasons, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) may be completing the processing of applications filed prior to the month posted.
Average Number of Days to Process PERM Applications
These dates reflect the amount of time to process applications. Actual processing times for each employer’s PERM application may vary from the average depending on material facts and individual circumstances of the case. The OFLC is reporting the average processing time for all PERM applications for the most recent month.
PWD Processing Times: As of Aug. 1, the National Prevailing Wage Center was processing PWD requests filed in March and April 2025 for H-1B and PERM OEWS* cases. For H-1B and PERM Non-OEWS* cases, the department was processing requests filed in February 2025 and earlier.
*OEWS and Non-OEWS are the sources used for determining the prevailing wage for a job. OEWS stands for Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Non-OEWS refers to other sources used for prevailing wage determinations, such as collective bargaining agreements or private wage surveys.
Redeterminations were being considered on appeals filed in April 2025 and earlier for H-1B cases and February 2025 and earlier for PERM cases.
Center Director Reviews were being conducted for PERM cases filed in June 2024 and earlier. The OFLC has indicated that H-1B cases were “N/A” at this time, indicating this metric is not currently being tracked as a separate metric for this visa category.
The State Department published a Temporary Final Rule (TFR) in the Federal Register announcing the launch of a 12-month visa bond pilot program for certain foreign nationals applying for B1/B2 visas effective Aug. 20, 2025, until Aug. 5, 2026.
Additional Information: More details on required ports of entry, visa bond compliance and visa bond breach can be found here. The pilot program requiring bonds is intended to serve as a financial guarantee to encourage compliance with visa terms, particularly timely departure from the U.S. The pilot program will assess the effectiveness of financial deterrents in reducing visa overstays.