FY2025 Immigrant Visa Data: Family and Employment Issuances, AOS vs Consular, and Spillover Analysis
Unused family preference visas spill over to the employment-based pool each year. We pulled all the publicly available FY2025 data (October 2024 through September 2025) from the State Department and USCIS to see where things stand.
Data sourced from the U.S. Department of State Monthly Immigrant Visa Issuance reports (travel.state.gov) and USCIS I-485 Quarterly Reports (uscis.gov). All figures are based on publicly available government data. This is informational content only and is not legal advice.
1. How the Visa Allocation System Works
Under INA Section 201, there are two separate pools of immigrant visas each fiscal year:
- Family-Based Preference (F1-F4): 226,000 annual cap. These are F1 (unmarried sons/daughters of citizens), F2A (spouses and children of LPRs), F2B (unmarried sons/daughters of LPRs), F3 (married sons/daughters of citizens), and F4 (siblings of adult citizens). Any unused numbers from this pool spill over to the EB pool the following year.
- Employment-Based (EB-1 through EB-5): Base of 140,000, plus any unused family preference numbers from the prior fiscal year.
Categories that do NOT count toward the 226,000 cap:
- Immediate Relatives (IR): Spouses, unmarried minor children, and parents of U.S. citizens. Uncapped under INA 201(b). IR visas include IR1 (spouse), IR2 (child), IR5 (parent), and CR1/CR2 (conditional residents, same relationships but married less than 2 years). These do not generate spillover.
- FX: A State Department visa classification that appears in monthly issuance data. Based on our analysis, FX is a distinct visa class code in the DOS reports. Its exact relationship to the 226,000 cap requires further verification.
- DV (Diversity Visa): Separate 55,000 annual allocation. Not part of FB or EB system.
- Humanitarian (Asylum, Refugee, Cuban): Separate from both FB and EB caps.
For FY2025, the State Department set the EB allocation at 150,037, which means FY2024 had 10,037 unused family preference visas (150,037 minus the 140,000 base).
2. FY2025 Family Preference Consular Issuances (F1-F4)
The table below shows immigrant visas issued at U.S. consulates overseas for family preference categories during FY2025. These are the categories subject to the 226,000 annual cap.
| Category | Description | Consular Issued | Counts Toward 226K? |
|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Unmarried sons/daughters of U.S. citizens | 23,484 | Yes |
| F2A | Spouses and children of LPRs | 13,973 | Yes |
| F2B | Unmarried sons/daughters of LPRs (21+) | 22,929 | Yes |
| F3 | Married sons/daughters of U.S. citizens | 20,969 | Yes |
| F4 | Siblings of adult U.S. citizens | 52,451 | Yes |
| F1-F4 Subtotal (consular only) | 133,806 | Yes | |
| IR | Immediate Relatives of U.S. citizens | 22,512* | No (uncapped) |
| FX | Family visa class (see note) | 42,056 | Unclear |
*IR figure is from September 2025 data only. Our data pipeline is being updated to properly separate IR (including CR visa codes) from other categories across all months. FX appears in months October 2024 through August 2025. These figures should not be added together as the classification methodology changed between reporting periods.
3. Monthly Family Preference Consular Issuances (F1-F4)
| Month | F1 | F2A | F2B | F3 | F4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2024 | 2,049 | 1,673 | 1,701 | 2,108 | 6,151 | 13,682 |
| Nov 2024 | 1,493 | 1,167 | 927 | 1,324 | 5,177 | 10,088 |
| Dec 2024 | 1,309 | 1,914 | 1,408 | 1,585 | 4,580 | 10,796 |
| Jan 2025 | 1,511 | 1,439 | 999 | 1,156 | 3,529 | 8,634 |
| Feb 2025 | 1,797 | 1,277 | 1,979 | 1,954 | 3,549 | 10,556 |
| Mar 2025 | 1,689 | 2,435 | 1,402 | 1,617 | 3,180 | 10,323 |
| Apr 2025 | 1,480 | 1,358 | 1,300 | 1,191 | 2,606 | 7,935 |
| May 2025 | 2,751 | 557 | 3,278 | 2,388 | 3,569 | 12,543 |
| Jun 2025 | 2,040 | 341 | 1,914 | 1,629 | 6,240 | 12,164 |
| Jul 2025 | 2,707 | 89 | 3,118 | 2,122 | 5,194 | 13,230 |
| Aug 2025 | 2,383 | 784 | 2,369 | 1,975 | 4,174 | 11,685 |
| Sep 2025 | 2,275 | 939 | 2,534 | 1,920 | 4,502 | 12,170 |
| FY2025 Total | 23,484 | 13,973 | 22,929 | 20,969 | 52,451 | 133,806 |
F4 (siblings of citizens) consistently had the highest monthly volume, averaging approximately 4,370 per month. Consular issuances dropped from January 2025 onward, with April 2025 being the lowest month at 7,935 total. This decline coincides with the implementation of Proclamation 10998 and the immigrant visa processing freeze that affected consular operations in over 75 countries.
4. FY2025 I-485 Adjustment of Status (AOS) Data
USCIS processes I-485 applications for people adjusting status inside the U.S. Here are the quarterly numbers.
| Quarter | Period | Family | Employment | Humanitarian | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Oct-Dec 2024 | 84,044 | 29,418 | 72,311 | 4,856 | 190,629 |
| Q2 | Jan-Mar 2025 | 77,139 | 24,729 | 70,592 | 6,089 | 178,549 |
| Q3 | Apr-Jun 2025 | 122,813 | 26,691 | 15,642 | 5,557 | 170,703 |
| Q4 | Jul-Sep 2025 | 149,075 | 27,107 | 19,303 | 9,567 | 205,052 |
| FY2025 | Full Year | 433,071 | 107,945 | 177,848 | 26,069 | 744,933 |
Source: USCIS I-485 Quarterly Reports, FY2025 Q1 through Q4.
Critical limitation: The "Family" column combines Immediate Relatives (IR) and F1-F4 preference categories into a single number. USCIS does not publish a breakdown separating IR from F1-F4 in these quarterly reports. This matters because only F1-F4 numbers count toward the 226,000 cap. IR is uncapped and does not generate spillover.
Family AOS approvals surged in Q3 and Q4 (122,813 and 149,075), while humanitarian approvals dropped from 72,311 in Q1 to 19,303 in Q4.
5. AOS vs Consular: How Big Is the Gap?
| Category | Consular | AOS (I-485) | Total | AOS Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FB Preference (F1-F4) | 133,806 | Unknown* | Unknown* | N/A |
| Family (all, aggregated) | N/A | 433,071 | N/A | N/A |
| Employment-Based (EB) | 52,014 | 107,945 | 159,959 | 67.5% |
| Humanitarian | N/A | 177,848 | 177,848 | N/A |
*USCIS does not separate IR from F1-F4 in the I-485 quarterly data.
EB consular dropped to 52,014 for the entire year. In the second half (April through September), it averaged under 3,500 per month. AOS carried 67.5% of all EB green cards.
6. EB Consular Issuances by Category and Country
| Country | EB-1 | EB-2 | EB-3 | EB-4 | EB-5 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | 256 | 129 | 334 | 2 | 788 | 1,509 |
| China | 2,393 | 776 | 1,580 | 0 | 4,109 | 8,858 |
| Mexico | 73 | 210 | 1,102 | 0 | 74 | 1,459 |
| Philippines | 20 | 53 | 7,026 | 0 | 9 | 7,108 |
| Rest of World | 4,052 | 11,556 | 10,627 | 905 | 4,604 | 31,744 |
| Total | 6,794 | 12,724 | 20,669 | 907 | 9,584 | 50,678 |
India had just 1,509 total EB consular issuances for the entire year, with only 129 EB-2 visas issued overseas. For context, India has over 27,000 pending EB-2 I-485 applications. The consular channel is effectively frozen for India-born EB applicants, making AOS the primary pathway.
Philippines dominated EB-3 consular (7,026), reflecting the nursing and healthcare worker pipeline. China led EB-5 (4,109) as the largest investor visa market. Rest of World accounted for 62.6% of all EB consular issuances.
7. What This Means for FY2026 EB Spillover
The FY2026 EB allocation depends on how many of the 226,000 family preference visas went unused in FY2025. Here is what we can determine from the data.
What we know:
- FB preference (F1-F4) consular issuances: 133,806
- Total Family AOS (IR + F1-F4 combined): 433,071
- USCIS does not break down Family AOS into IR vs F1-F4
Even if 80% of Family AOS was IR (a generous assumption), the remaining F1-F4 AOS plus consular would total approximately 220,000, very close to the 226,000 cap. Any lower IR assumption pushes it over, which led us, in April, to project little or no FY2025-to-FY2026 spillover.
(As of this post's April writing, DOS had not yet published the FY2026 Annual Numerical Limits document.) Based on the data available in April, FY2025-to-FY2026 spillover appeared to be near zero.
Update (May 2026): this was wrong. DOS published the official FY2026 Annual Numerical Limits on May 19, 2026, setting the worldwide employment-based pool at 186,000, i.e. the 140,000 floor plus about 46,000 of family-based numbers that went unused in FY2025 and fell up. FY2025 family usage fell roughly 46,000 short of the 226,000 cap, so FY2026 employment applicants get a larger pool than this post originally concluded.
8. Pending I-485 Inventory (End of FY2025)
| Category | Pending |
|---|---|
| Family-based | 543,486 |
| Employment-based | 166,945 |
| Humanitarian | 491,977 |
| Other | 41,509 |
| Total | 1,243,917 |
Over 1.2 million I-485 applications were pending at the end of FY2025. The humanitarian backlog grew from 291,446 at the start of the year to 491,977 by September 2025.
9. Data Sources and Limitations
Consular data: U.S. Department of State Monthly Immigrant Visa Issuance reports, published at travel.state.gov. Coverage: consular issuances at overseas embassies and consulates only. Does not include AOS.
AOS data: USCIS Application for Adjustment of Status (Form I-485) Quarterly Reports, published at uscis.gov. The "Family" category combines Immediate Relatives with F1-F4 preference categories. USCIS does not publish this breakdown.
What we cannot determine from publicly available data:
- The IR vs F1-F4 split within Family AOS approvals
- EB AOS broken down by EB-1 through EB-5 (USCIS reports only the aggregate)
- The exact total FB preference admissions (consular + AOS combined) for spillover purposes
The definitive FY2026 EB allocation will be published by the State Department in the Annual Numerical Limits document. We will update this analysis when that document becomes available.
Track your estimated green card timeline at greencardclock.com/priority-date.
Data sourced from U.S. Department of State Monthly Immigrant Visa Issuance reports (travel.state.gov) and USCIS I-485 Quarterly Reports, FY2025 Q1-Q4 (uscis.gov). All figures are based on publicly available government data. This is informational content only and is not legal advice. Immigration decisions should be made in consultation with a qualified immigration attorney.
--- **Update (April 25, 2026): Revised projection.** The May 2026 Visa Bulletin Section D explicitly stated the State Department is routing unused immigrant visa numbers from disrupted-country applicants to non-disrupted ones. Our FY2027 family-to-employment spillover estimate has moved with the data. Our March model projected roughly 95,000. We revised it down to about 55,000 in April after modeling how the State Department redistributes unused family numbers (the F2A per-country cap exemption under INA 202(a)(4)(A) and inter-category fall-down). It has since risen back to approximately 81,000 as consular disruptions deepened through spring 2026, with a credible path toward 90,000 or more if the May 2026 adjustment-of-status policy holds, and it remains material for employment-based applicants, but smaller than initially projected. Actual numbers depend on whether DOS continues redistributing through the rest of FY2026 and how aggressively cutoffs advance in subsequent bulletins. *Estimates are based on publicly available data from the U.S. Department of State and USCIS. Spillover figures are approximations — actual allocations may differ. Not legal advice.*Update (May 25, 2026): Official FY2026 limits supersede earlier estimates in this post. The State Department published its Annual Numerical Limits for FY-2026 on May 19, 2026 (a standalone PDF, released later than the usual October bulletin). It sets the worldwide employment-based pool at 186,000: the 140,000 statutory floor plus about 46,000 of family-based numbers that went unused in FY2025 and fell up (about 53,196 each for EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 worldwide). Where this post estimated that FY2025 family numbers were largely used (implying little FY2026 spillover), the official figures show family usage fell roughly 46,000 short of the 226,000 cap, so the FY2026 employment pool is larger than originally projected here. Figures remain "Estimated, pending official determination." Not legal advice.