July 2025 Visa Bulletin: Mostly steady, scattered progress forward

The Department of State has just issued the July 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

USCIS will continue to use the Table A Final Action Dates chart for I-485 employment-based filings in July 2025. See: USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis

EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 China all moved forward 1-2 weeks in July 2025.

EB-3 All Other and EB-3 Mexico moved forward nearly 2 months.

EB-3 India moved forward 1 week.

All remaining categories stayed steady and made no progress.

As we approach the end of the fiscal year in September, the visa bulletin is unlikely to make significant progress forward and is expected to slow down or remain steady.

In 2024, EB-3 categories retrogressed significantly in July 2024 and September 2024, so the lack of retrogression in this month’s visa bulletin is a positive sign toward a steady conclusion of the fiscal year.

Trump’s Travel Ban will Exacerbate Healthcare Workforce Shortages in the US

On June 4, 2025, President Donald Trump announced the first travel ban of his second term. The 2025 version of the President’s travel ban restricts visa issuance to nationals of 19 countries.

Specifically, the ban prevents issuance of both temporary visas and permanent Green Cards to nationals of the following countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

The ban sets country-specific partial bans on certain visa types for the remaining seven countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

The ban does not apply to existing Green Card holders, dual nationals (if the individual travels on a passport issued by a country that is not included in the ban), athletes, coaches and immediate relatives traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event, and immediate family immigrants with clear and convincing evidence of identity and family relationship (e.g., DNA).

The ban will take effect on June 9, 2025, and could impact U.S. employers that rely on global talent, particularly in healthcare and technology, as noted by Boundless Immigration’s blog on the Travel Ban’s negative effect on US employers.

As discussed in an MU blog post earlier this year, immigrants are relied upon extensively in the US healthcare workforce. Citing research analysis by JAMA Network:

• 25% of physicians in the U.S. were born outside of the U.S.
• 17% of the total healthcare workforce, or roughly 3.4 million workers, were born outside the U.S.

The Trump Travel Ban will further restrict visa issuance to foreign-trained healthcare workers who are desperately needed to meet shortages in the US. Current healthcare staffing shortages will be further exacerbated, hospitals will face bottlenecks and healthcare facilities will be unable to meet healthcare needs in the U.S.

Foreign-Trained Nurses Can Help Fill Critical Gaps in the Healthcare Sector

As the U.S. healthcare system grapples with a critical nursing shortage, maintaining lawful, streamlined immigration pathways for foreign-trained nurses is essential to ensuring effective and continuous patient care.

A recently published article by Digital Health Insights (DHI) highlights the severity of this shortage, which is exacerbated by tightening immigration policies and a growing number of nurses leaving the profession.

 

Drawing on data from the Migration Policy Institute, DHI notes that as of 2021, nearly 20%, approximately 2.8 million, of healthcare workers in the United States are immigrants.

 

The total supply of RNs in the U.S. decreased by more than 100,000 from 2020 to 2021, which is the greatest drop in the past 40 years. Between 2020-2022, nursing turnover skyrocketed to 27% nationwide.

 

Due to high demand and Department of State backlogs, foreign-trained nurses who qualify for a Green Card are currently waiting more than two years to enter the U.S. after their cases are approved. An approved case indicates the foreign-trained nurse meets all U.S. requirements to enter the profession and has a U.S. employer sponsor.

 

To address these barriers, DHI proposes innovative solutions, such as extending the National Interest Waiver for Physicians to include other healthcare professionals. Likewise, it suggests that the U.S. follow the example of countries like Canada and the United Kingdom, which have implemented dedicated healthcare visa programs.

 

Meeting the U.S. healthcare workforce shortage—particularly in nursing—requires accessible and effective legal pathways for foreign-trained professionals.

USCIS Releases FY 2026 H-1B Cap Registration Numbers

USCIS recently posted its FY 2026 H-1B cap lottery update, announcing it received 358,737 total registrations in the FY 2026 (March 2025) H-1B cap lottery. The total number of registrations submitted in FY 2026 decreased 25% from FY 2025, when 479,953 total registrations were submitted. 

The H-1B CAP lottery was open to employees filling positions requiring bachelor’s degrees, which may include healthcare occupations such as Medical Technologists, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, and even Registered Nurses.

The table below provides the total number of H-1B registrations from FY 2021 - 2026:

Fiscal Year	H-1B registrations
2026	358,737
2025	479,953
2024	780,884
2023	483,927
2022	308,613
2021	274,237

 

As indicated by the table, the number of H-1B cap registrations has steadily declined since FY 2024. USCIS credits its final rule Improving the H-1B Registration Selection Process and Program Integrity, which was implemented in 2024 and introduced a beneficiary-centric registration system designed to prevent employers from submitting duplicate registrations for the same individual. 

H-1B registrations once again far outnumbered the 85,000 cap, and a total of 120,141 registrations were selected for FY 2026. Those selected in the lottery have been notified and must file their full H-1B petitions with USCIS by June 30, 2025.

If less than 85,000 CAP petitions are filed by June 30, 2025, USCIS may issue additional selections in a subsequent round of the lottery. Individuals whose registrations are listed in the Registrant’s online account as “Submitted” are not yet rejected in the CAP but are eligible to be chosen in a later round of the lottery.

June 2025 Visa Bulletin: Notable Progress for Mexico, Philippines, and Rest of World

The Department of State has just issued the June 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

USCIS will continue to use the Table A Final Action Dates chart for I-485 employment-based filings in June 2025. See: USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis

The EB-2 and EB-3 categories in all chargeability areas except for India moved forward in June 2025.

EB-2 Mexico, Philippines and Rest of World moved forward nearly 4 months, the most progress in those categories since the start of the fiscal year in October 2024.

EB-3 Mexico, Philippines and Rest of World moved forward 5 weeks, the most progress in those categories since the start of the fiscal year in October 2024.

All EB-1 categories, as well as EB-2 India and EB-3 India, remained steady and made no progress.

Department of State Launches IV Scheduling Status Tool

On April 29, 2025, the Department of State launched the Immigrant Visa (IV) Scheduling Status Tool, which will provide greater transparency for Green Card applicants who are currently delayed from entering the US while awaiting their Green Card interview abroad.

Updated monthly, the IV Scheduling Status Tool provides information by post and visa category indicating the month and year in which recently scheduled cases became documentarily complete.

The date a case becomes “documentarily complete” is date that NVC determines an applicant has paid the necessary fees and submitted all required documents.

The IV Tool is available for applicants in all employment-based Green Card categories, including Registered Nurses and other healthcare workers.

USCIS Should Update H-1B Policy for Nurses

The USCIS should consider issuing a new policy memo to modernize and liberalize the approvability of H-1B visas for registered nurses. The current guidance—based on a 2015 memo from the Obama administration—is outdated and no longer reflects the realities of the U.S. healthcare workforce.

The U.S. Faces a Critical Nursing Shortage

Nursing remains one of the most understaffed professions in the United States. This shortage is driven by several key factors:

• An aging population that is increasing demand for healthcare services.
• A large number of nurses retiring from an aging workforce.
• Bottlenecks in nursing education due to faculty shortages and limited training capacity.

To address this crisis, allowing more foreign-trained nurses into the U.S. through H-1B visas could provide much-needed relief.

Why H-1B Approval for Nurses Makes Sense Now

Historically, USCIS has been reluctant to approve H-1B petitions for registered nurses because bedside nursing roles did not universally require a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). However, that landscape has changed significantly.

According to a recent study by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), 72% of registered nurses in the U.S. now hold at least a BSN. (Source)

Given this shift, the USCIS should revise its policy to instruct officers to generally approve H-1B petitions for RN positions requiring a BSN.

No Risk of Job Offshoring

Some critics of the H-1B program argue that it can lead to offshoring of American jobs—especially in the IT sector. That concern does not apply to nursing. RN positions are inherently in-person and cannot be outsourced. A nurse must be physically present to care for patients. The real choice facing U.S. patients is not between a U.S. nurse and an international one—it is between having a nurse or going without care.

What to Know About the Alien Registration Requirement

In late March, USCIS launched an informational webpage on the Alien Registration Requirement. USCIS began its enforcement of the Alien Registration Act on April 11, 2025.

Most noncitizens in the United States are already considered registered under U.S. immigration law. Noncitizens considered “registered” include, but are not limited to:

• Green Card holders
• Individuals who were issued Form I-94 (paper or electronic) even if the period of admission has expired (including individuals on student status, H-1B status, or in the US on a tourist visa)
• Individuals who entered the US on a nonimmigrant or immigrant visa
• Individuals working in the US on an Employment Authorization Document (EAD)

Most healthcare workers, including physicians, registered nurses, physical therapists, and medical technologists, are eligible for legal entry to the US and work authorization based on at least one of the documents above.

It’s also important to understand what the law requires next—especially when it comes to carrying proof of that registration.

What You Must Carry

Noncitizens aged 14 and older are required by the Registration Act to carry one of the documents above, or proof of submission of Form G-325R, at all times.

Noncitizens Nearing their 14^th Birthday

Once a noncitizen turns 14 and has been in the U.S. for 30 days or more, they must register by submitting Form G-325R via https://my.uscis.gov/ and carry proof of registration. Parents and guardians should speak with their immigration attorney to ensure that children meet this requirement within 30 days of their 14^th birthday.

Why It’s Important

Carrying your registration proof can help avoid unnecessary issues during interactions with government agencies, travel, or legal processes. Staying informed and prepared helps protect your rights and keep your stay in the U.S. on track.

For more information or for questions on your case, speak with a qualified immigration attorney.