One of the most coveted employment-based immigration options for skilled workers, foreign professionals, and other eligible workers from around the world is the EB-3 Visaprogram to obtain permanent residency in the US. Are you also one of the prospects? If yes, this piece might be of interest.
As we navigate through 2025, staying updated with the current processing times and priority date shifts is all the more essential for interested, prospective applicants, legal practitioners, and employers alike.
Overview of the EB-3 Visa category
As you may already be aware, the EB-3 program has three distinct subcategories designed to cover a wide range of employment backgrounds, namely:
- Skilled workers - Those with a minimum of 2 years of relevant job experience or specialized training.
- Professionals - Individuals with a US bachelor’s degree or its foreign equivalent.
- Other workers - These are unskilled workers, requiring not more than 2 years of experience or training.
The EB-3 category is often down with significant backlogs due to rigid annual thresholds and consistently high demand, especially for regions with historically high immigration records, including the Philippines, Mexico, China, and India.
Current EB-3 Visa processing times
As of 2025, the EB-3 Green Card jobs’ processing timeline is still influenced by several key variables. This includes the applicant’s nation of chargeability, USCIS workload, and movements reflected in the monthly Visa Bulletin of the Department of State.
Midway through 2025, the average full-length EB-3 processing time, starting from the PERM Labor Certification to the final approval, usually takes around 18 to 36 months. However, the actual timeframe heavily relies on the applicant’s country of origin and how swiftly priority dates turn current.
Breakdown of key stages and delays
Here’s the end-to-end outline of processing times and why it often gets delayed:
- PERM Labor Certification (backlog): PERM applications are currently processed by DOL (Department of Labor), which generally takes about 6-12 months. However, it may extend if the case requires an audit or if existing wage determinations are delayed.
- I-140 immigrant petition: The I-140 petitions are usually processed by the USCIS in 4-8 months, on regular service. You can also opt for premium processing to shorten the adjudication to only 15 calendar days, if available at an extra fee of $2805.
- Wait for current priority date: The longest delay is waiting for your priority date to turn current under the Visa Bulletin. For many high-demand regions, this wait spans a few years.
- Adjustment of Status (I-485) or Consular Processing: Once your priority date becomes current, the adjustment of Status (for applicants residing in the US) or the consular processing (foreign nationals residing abroad) is completed in 6-10 months.
EB-3 priority date trends in 2025
The DOS (Department of State) in the US releases monthly Visa Bulletins, dictating a timeline for applicants to proceed with their green card applications.
Final action dates (June-July 2025)
The Visa Bulletin for July 2025 displayed significant progress in the EB-3 cut-off dates:
- Rest of World (ROW) & Mexico - Advanced from February 8, 2023, to April 1, 2023
- India - Progressed from April 15, 2013, to April 22, 2013
- China - Moved up from November 22, 2020, to December 1, 2020
These minimal progresses, especially the 1-2 month advances for ROW and Mexico, demonstrate slow yet steady growth in backlog clearance, other than India and China. However, only a few days of movement is also a sign of serious congestion in high-demand regions.
Observations and trends
- India and China still have the longest waiting times, subject to per-country caps. The priority dates movement for these regions is rather slow, with only minor advances in some months.
- Philippines, Mexico, and the Rest of World (ROW) applicants saw a steady and moderate progress in priority dates movements, even though occasional retrogressions occur.
- The “other workers” subcategory of the EB-3 program often faces more prolonged backlogs than the other two subcategories, highlighting the intense demand for job positions with less rigid qualification criteria.
Estimated priority date wait times as of July 2025
|
Country |
Skilled workers and Professionals |
Other workers |
|
India |
8+ years |
10+ years |
|
China |
5+ years |
7+ years |
|
Mexico |
2-3 years |
4+ years |
|
Philippines |
3-4 years |
5+ years |
|
ROW |
1 year (current) |
2-3 years |
This table reflects the existing disparities among regions and nationalities and why prospective applicants from high-demand, backlogged countries often struggle with extended timelines.
Overcoming EB-3 delays
Subject to varying and long timelines, applicants and prospective sponsoring employers should rather adopt proactive strategies that can potentially reduce delays and resolve known hurdles.
- Track the monthly Visa Bulletin: Priority date movements may change every month. Remaining updated empowers you to take prompt action as and when dates turn current.
- Leverage premium processing for I-140: While premium processing may not have any direct effect on priority dates, it escalates the timeline for the I-140 petition. This enables faster movement to adjustment of status if your priority date is current.
- Consider concurrent filing: If your priority date is already current during I-140 submission, you may file both I-140 and I-485 concurrently, likely shortening the overall processing timeline.
- Check out other immigration categories: If you qualify for the EB-2 (having an advanced degree or exceptional ability) or EB-1 (multinational managers, researchers/professors, or with extraordinary ability) visa category, you benefit from shorter backlogs and faster processing.
- Prepare documents in advance: Prepare all the essential documents early, such as job verification letters, tax records, medical records, etc., to reduce the chances of last-minute delays.
Future outlook for the EB-3 program
2025 has been a year of many possible legislative changes, especially with proposals to remove per-country caps or to increase the annual EB-3 Visa thresholds. While these changes, if approved, can extensively reduce wait times for high-demand nations, no such major legislation has been mandated yet.
This also implies that the EB-3 category will continue to experience extended wait times. Sponsoring employers and foreign nationals planning to hire or immigrate under EB-3 Green Card Jobs are to remain watchful and adaptable.
Closure
Therefore, while the EB-3 program does offer extensive opportunities for skilled and unskilled workers, the green card journey is complex, demanding patience with strategic planning. By being aware of the processing trends, priority date movements, and alternative scopes, prospective applicants can find a better position for themselves in securing permanent residency in the United States.
About Mohammed Rafiqul Islam
An engineer by profession, a blogger by passion. A dreamer and a relentless goal-achiever, he thrives on the freedom of the .com lifestyle. You’ll find him exploring new destinations or lost in the rhythm of music. With an eye for innovation, he’s always exploring alternate streams of finance to fuel his ambitions.
Want to connect or collaborate? Reach out at rafiquee70@gmail.com!
