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What percentage of O visas will go to Chinese nationals in FY 2022 (October 2021 through September 2022)?

Multiple choice Opened 12 March 2021 Closed 1 October 2021 Resolved 28 August 2023 225 forecasts 51 forecasters

Related questions. This question was previously issued for FY 2021. Initially two versions of that question were published, one conditioned on Vice President Biden's election, and one conditioned on President Trump's election. After Vice President Biden was elected, we dropped the condition on one question and voided the other. You can view the Biden/FY 2021 forecasts here and the Trump/FY 2021 (voided) forecasts here. And here is a blog post discussing the forecasts. The mean crowd forecast for FY 2021 is 4.3%.

A variation of this question—specific to O-1 visas—was previously issued for July 1 to September 30, 2020. You can view those forecasts here

Context. This question includes O-1, O-2, and O-3 visas. O-1 is a category of U.S. visa for individuals with extraordinary ability or achievement in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. O-2 visas are for individuals who assist the recipients of O-1 visas, and O-3 visas are for the spouses or children of recipients of O-1 or O-2 visas. The initial authorized period of stay is up to three years, with the possibility of extension.

Data and resolution details. This question is based on U.S. Department of State data. The Department of State provides both annual and (unofficial) monthly statistics on nonimmigrant visa issuances. This question resolves when the Department of State publishes O visa statistics for fiscal year 2022. This question includes visas for Mainland China only, not Taiwan. 

Although FY 2021 data in its entirety is not yet available, for the first four months of FY 2021 (October - January), 1.1% of O visas went to Chinese nationals. 

 

The data underlying the graph is here.

This question is a metric for the following scenarios:

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Outcome

Answer Final crowd forecast Resolution
Less than 3% 32% Happened
Between 3% and 4.5%, inclusive 41% Did not happen
More than 4.5% but less than or equal to 6% 22% Did not happen
More than 6% but less than or equal to 7.5% 4% Did not happen
More than 7.5% 1% 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 Jul 2021 Oct 2021 41% 32% 22% 4% 1%
More than 4.5% but less than or equal to 6% Between 3% and 4.5%, inclusive Less than 3% More than 6% but less than or equal to 7.5% More than 7.5%
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.