FY2025 Employment-Based Visa Data: EB-1A Denials Hit 47%, Consular Dropped 88%, and 180K I-140s Pending
FY2025 was a year where the employment-based green card system shifted heavily toward domestic processing. Consular issuances collapsed, AOS carried the load, and EB-1A denial rates hit record levels. Here is every number we could find from State Department and USCIS data.
Data sourced from State Department Monthly Immigrant Visa Issuance reports, USCIS I-140 Quarterly Reports, and USCIS I-485 Quarterly Reports (FY2025 Q1-Q4). All figures from publicly available government data. Not legal advice.
1. The Big Picture: 160K EB Green Cards
Total employment-based green cards issued in FY2025: approximately 160,000.
| Channel | Green Cards | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Consular (overseas embassies) | 52,014 | 32.5% |
| AOS (I-485, inside US) | 107,945 | 67.5% |
| Total | 159,959 | 100% |
The FY2025 EB allocation was 150,037 (140,000 base + 10,037 FB spillover from FY2024). Total usage at 160K suggests some numbers from prior fiscal years were also consumed.
2. Monthly EB Consular Issuances
EB consular issuances fell off a cliff after October 2024. By April 2025, monthly totals were under 4,000. Travel bans and the IV processing freeze shut down most overseas embassy operations.
| Month | EB-1 | EB-2 | EB-3 | EB-4 | EB-5 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2024 | 1,771 | 1,992 | 2,039 | - | 1,979 | 7,781 |
| Nov 2024 | 838 | 776 | 2,334 | - | 1,563 | 5,511 |
| Dec 2024 | 663 | 772 | 1,358 | - | 1,138 | 3,931 |
| Jan 2025 | 806 | 745 | 1,573 | - | 849 | 3,973 |
| Feb 2025 | 504 | 865 | 1,850 | - | 753 | 3,972 |
| Mar 2025 | 486 | 876 | 1,189 | - | 1,372 | 3,923 |
| Apr 2025 | 475 | 1,629 | 1,569 | - | 478 | 4,151 |
| May 2025 | 267 | 1,412 | 2,405 | - | 380 | 4,464 |
| Jun 2025 | 328 | 1,187 | 1,479 | - | 325 | 3,319 |
| Jul 2025 | 304 | 1,242 | 2,029 | - | 328 | 3,903 |
| Aug 2025 | 243 | 1,166 | 2,586 | - | 419 | 4,414 |
| Sep 2025 | 218 | 124 | 516 | 1,814 | - | 2,672 |
| FY2025 | 6,903 | 12,786 | 20,927 | 1,814 | 9,584 | 52,014 |
EB-1 consular went from 1,771 in October 2024 to 218 in September 2025. That is an 88% drop over the fiscal year. EB-3 held up the best, driven by Philippines nursing visas.
3. EB Consular by Country
| Country | EB-1 | EB-2 | EB-3 | EB-5 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | 256 | 129 | 334 | 788 | 1,509 |
| China | 2,393 | 776 | 1,580 | 4,109 | 8,858 |
| Philippines | 20 | 53 | 7,026 | 9 | 7,108 |
| Mexico | 73 | 210 | 1,102 | 74 | 1,459 |
| Rest of World | 4,052 | 11,556 | 10,627 | 4,604 | 31,744 |
India: 1,509 EB consular for the entire year. That is 129 EB-2 visas issued overseas for a country with 27,000+ pending EB-2 I-485 applications. The consular channel is essentially shut for India EB applicants.
Philippines dominated EB-3 (7,026) through nursing and healthcare worker petitions. China led EB-5 investor visas (4,109). Rest of World accounted for 61% of all EB consular.
4. I-140 Petitions: What Is Coming Into the Pipeline
I-140 is the employer petition that starts the EB green card process. Here is every I-140 filed and decided in FY2025.
| Category | Received | Approved | Denied | Pending |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EB-1 Total | 51,344 | 28,550 | 6,610 | 34,585 |
| EB-1A (Extraordinary Ability) | 29,582 | 12,468 | 6,165 | 21,157 |
| EB-1B (Outstanding Researcher) | 5,628 | 5,142 | 116 | 2,143 |
| EB-1C (Multinational Manager) | 16,134 | 10,940 | 329 | 11,285 |
| EB-2 Total | 116,197 | 72,327 | 16,990 | 84,575 |
| EB-2 (Advanced Degree) | 49,921 | 52,795 | 1,127 | 10,183 |
| EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) | 66,276 | 19,532 | 15,863 | 74,392 |
| EB-3 Total | 77,302 | 51,763 | 1,217 | 61,279 |
| Skilled Workers | 30,444 | 15,055 | 466 | 33,865 |
| Professionals (Bachelors) | 22,492 | 22,027 | 451 | 5,765 |
| Unskilled Workers (EW3) | 24,366 | 14,681 | 300 | 21,649 |
| ALL EB | 244,843 | 152,640 | 24,817 | 180,439 |
244,843 I-140 petitions filed in FY2025. 152,640 approved. 180,439 still pending. Each approved I-140 eventually needs a green card, so this number feeds directly into the queue.
5. EB-1A: Denial Rates Hit 47%
EB-1A had the most dramatic shift of any category. Denial rates climbed every quarter.
| Quarter | Received | Approved | Denied | Denial Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 (Oct-Dec 2024) | 7,370 | 3,227 | 1,091 | 25.3% |
| Q2 (Jan-Mar 2025) | 7,277 | 3,402 | 1,276 | 27.3% |
| Q3 (Apr-Jun 2025) | 7,471 | 3,508 | 1,765 | 33.5% |
| Q4 (Jul-Sep 2025) | 7,464 | 2,331 | 2,033 | 46.6% |
| FY2025 | 29,582 | 12,468 | 6,165 | 33.1% |
By Q4, nearly half of all EB-1A decisions were denials. Compare that to EB-1B (Outstanding Researcher) at 2.2% denial rate and EB-1C (Multinational Manager) at 2.9%. EB-1A is the only EB-1 subcategory with a denial problem.
Meanwhile, EB-1A receipts stayed flat at around 7,400 per quarter despite the rising denials. 21,157 EB-1A petitions were still pending at year end.
6. NIW: 66K Filed, 74K Pending
National Interest Waiver filings grew from 8,296 in Q1 to 16,862 in Q4. The backlog grew faster than USCIS could process.
| Quarter | Received | Approved | Denied |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 8,296 | 9,686 | 156 |
| Q2 | 11,091 | 11,084 | 72 |
| Q3 | 13,672 | 12,087 | 215 |
| Q4 | 16,862 | 19,938 | 684 |
| FY2025 | 49,921 | 52,795 | 1,127 |
NIW receipts doubled from Q1 to Q4. USCIS actually approved more than it received in Q4 (19,938 vs 16,862), clearing some backlog. But 74,392 NIW petitions remain pending. NIW denial rate stayed low at 2.1% for the full year.
7. I-140 Approvals by Country
India dominated I-140 approvals in FY2025, receiving 41.9% of all approvals.
| Country | EB-1 | EB-2 | EB-3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | 9,080 | 40,722 | 10,465 | 60,267 |
| China | 5,913 | 11,197 | 3,568 | 20,678 |
| All Others | 13,557 | 20,408 | 37,730 | 71,695 |
| Total | 28,550 | 72,327 | 51,763 | 152,640 |
India received 40,722 EB-2 approvals alone. Each of these approved petitions joins the EB-2 India queue, which already has 27,000+ pending I-485 applications. The pipeline keeps growing.
8. I-485 AOS by Quarter
| Quarter | EB Received | EB Approved | EB Denied | EB Pending |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 (Oct-Dec 2024) | 39,680 | 29,418 | 3,643 | 181,732 |
| Q2 (Jan-Mar 2025) | 24,066 | 24,729 | 4,119 | 179,081 |
| Q3 (Apr-Jun 2025) | 22,622 | 26,691 | 3,413 | 173,106 |
| Q4 (Jul-Sep 2025) | 24,614 | 27,107 | 2,930 | 166,945 |
| FY2025 | 110,982 | 107,945 | 14,105 | 166,945 |
Source: USCIS I-485 Quarterly Reports, FY2025.
EB I-485 pending dropped from 181,732 to 166,945 over the year. USCIS approved slightly more than it received each quarter from Q2 onward, slowly chipping away at the backlog. USCIS does not break EB AOS into EB-1 through EB-5 subcategories in these reports.
9. What All of This Means
Three things stand out from the FY2025 data:
Consular is not coming back soon. EB consular dropped 88% from October to September. Until the travel bans and IV freeze are lifted, AOS is the only realistic path for most EB applicants. For India especially, 1,509 consular visas against 27,000+ pending AOS applications means the consular channel is a rounding error.
The I-140 pipeline is massive. 244,843 new I-140 petitions filed in FY2025, 152,640 approved, 180,439 pending. Every approved I-140 eventually needs a green card. At current EB allocation of 140-150K per year (including dependents), the pipeline is growing faster than it is being cleared.
EB-1A is getting harder. Denial rates went from 25% in Q1 to 47% in Q4. Filing volume stayed flat, so the tightening is coming from the adjudication side. The DOJ appeal of the Nebraska district court ruling (which questioned USCIS's two-step Kazarian framework) adds more uncertainty. EB-1B and EB-1C remain much more straightforward with denial rates under 3%.
Track your estimated green card timeline at greencardclock.com/priority-date. We update as new data becomes available.
Data sourced from U.S. Department of State Monthly Immigrant Visa Issuance reports (travel.state.gov), USCIS I-140 Quarterly Reports FY2025 Q1-Q4, and USCIS I-485 Quarterly Reports FY2025 Q1-Q4 (uscis.gov). All figures from publicly available government data. Not legal advice.