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How many new H-1B visa applications submitted by the "Big 5" tech companies will the U.S. grant in FY 2022 (September 2021 through October 2022)?

Multiple choice Opened 12 March 2021 Closed 1 October 2021 Resolved 22 December 2022 331 forecasts 82 forecasters

Related question. This question was previously issued for FY 2021. The mean crowd forecast for that question is 8,122. You can view those forecasts here.

Context. H-1B is a visa category for skilled workers, accounting for about 108,000 annual entrants. It's also a common immigration pathway for AI-skilled workers. 

Data and resolution details. This question resolves based on "initial approvals" reported in the USCIS annual summary for FY 2022.  The fiscal year is October 1 through September 30. The chart below is based on the same data for previous fiscal years. The "Big 5" tech companies are Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft, including all affiliates with those words at the beginning of their title. For example, Amazon includes Amazon Web Services and Amazon Fulfillment Services. 

The H-1B Employer Data Hub provides quarterly updates on H-1B statistics. For example, if one downloads all data for FY 2020 and then filters by the Big-5 tech companies, they'll see H-1B statistics as of the most recent quarter for which there's data. 

The data underlying the graph is here.

This question is a metric for the following scenarios:

To suggest a change or clarification to this question, please select Request Clarification from the green gear-shaped dropdown button to the right of the question.

Outcome

Answer Final crowd forecast Resolution
Less than 7,500 6% Did not happen
Between 7,500 and 9,500, inclusive 14% Happened
More than 9,500 but less than or equal to 11,500 39% Did not happen
More than 11,500 but less than or equal to 13,500 26% Did not happen
More than 13,500 15% Did not happen

“Final crowd forecast” is the last aggregate crowd probability computed before the question closed – the right-hand end of the chart below, which this table is the accessible equivalent of.

Crowd forecast over time

0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Mar 2021 Jun 2021 Oct 2021 39% 26% 15% 14% 6%
More than 9,500 but less than or equal to 11,500 More than 13,500 More than 11,500 but less than or equal to 13,500 Between 7,500 and 9,500, inclusive Less than 7,500
The aggregate crowd probability, one point per day, from RFI's primary aggregation method. Gaps are days with no computed aggregate. Individual forecasts are not shown.