MARCH 2025 VISA BULLETIN: Movement Forward for all EB-2 plus EB-3 China and India

The Department of State has just issued the March 2025 Visa Bulletin. This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

Visa Bulletin

Table A: Final Action Dates -- Applications with these priority dates or earlier may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment:

Table B: Dates for Filing

In keeping with February 2025, USCIS will continue to use the Table A Final Action Dates chart for I-485 employment-based filings in March 2025. See: USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis

EB-2 All Other, China, India, Mexico, and Philippines: EB-2 categories in all chargeability areas made moderate progress forward in March 2025:

• EB-2 Rest of World, India, Mexico and the Philippines: 6 weeks
• EB-2 China: 2 weeks

EB-3 China and India: EB-3 categories for China and India moved forward 4 weeks and 6 weeks, respectively. No other chargeability areas moved forward in the EB-3 category.

EB-1: EB-1 categories made no progress in any chargeability area.

English Exam Score Set at 50 for International Nurses: Could Increase in Future, says HRSA

The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) announced that it will reset its standard passing English exam score to 50, after raising the standard to 63 in the Fall of 2024.

Immigration regulations require that when filing an immigration petition for certain healthcare occupations, including Registered Nurses, the Petitioner must include a healthcare worker’s certificate (sometimes called a Visa Screen) from an authorized credentialing organization. A passing English exam score is required for Visa Screen issuance.

One such English exam, the PTE, will now have a standardized passing score of 50 across all Visa Screen providers.

However, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) could soon increase the standardized English exam score across all providers.

To determine the appropriate English exam score requirement to protect patient safety and to safeguard healthcare professionals coming into the U.S. to work, HRSA has asked for comments through the Federal Register and will be reviewing a comprehensive report on English proficiency standards within the coming month.