How many Social Security numbers were issued to noncitizens by visa type (e.g., H-1B, F-1, J-1) in 2022–2024?

1. The public headline figures — rapid growth, disputed framing

Several news outlets and commentators circulated EBE (Enumeration Beyond Entry) totals showing a jump from roughly 590,000 noncitizens issued SSNs in fiscal 2022 to about 964,000 in FY2023 and “more than 2 million” (often reported as ~2.1 million) in FY2024; that set off political claims and fact checks ^{[1] [2] [3] [7]}. Fact‑checking outlets and reporting note the numbers describe legal processes that issued SSNs to people lawfully present or authorized to work and warn against conflating the EBE totals with broad assertions about illegal benefits or voting by noncitizens ^{[3] [8]}.

2. What EBE measures and why it matters for the headline totals

The EBE program enabled automatic issuance of SSNs to certain immigration applicants who requested numbers on immigration or work‑authorization forms; that mechanism produces year‑level totals of “new noncitizen” SSNs issued via that administrative pathway — which is what the publicized charts summarized ^{[3] [8]}. Coverage emphasizes that EBE numbers do not by themselves indicate who is physically present in the U.S. at the time of issuance or whether recipients are citizens, lawful permanent residents, temporary workers, students, refugees or other categories ^{[3] [8] [9]}.

3. Sources do not report visa‑type breakdowns for 2022–2024

The materials made available to this briefing — national and fact‑check reporting, SSA guidance and university international‑student pages — do not provide a tabulation of SSNs issued in 2022–2024 by visa class (H‑1B, F‑1, J‑1, etc.). News stories cite annual EBE totals but do not include the granular visa‑type counts requested; SSA guidance describes eligibility rules instead of publishing per‑visa issuance counts in the supplied sources ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}.

4. What the supplied sources do say about who is eligible for SSNs

SSA and law‑office summaries explain the basic rule: noncitizens with current employment authorization can obtain SSNs, and certain visa categories are “automatically eligible” or eligible once they secure work authorization (for example, H‑1B holders, some J‑1s and F‑1 students with CPT/OPT) ^{[4] [5] [6] [10]}. University international offices and immigration resources reiterate that F‑1 and J‑1 students normally qualify only if they have authorized employment (CPT/OPT or on‑campus jobs), while employment‑based visas such as H‑1B are work‑authorized and eligible for SSNs ^{[10] [6] [11]}.

5. Why visa‑level counts are hard to extract from public reporting

EBE aggregates are administrative totals tied to immigration forms and SSA processing, not public spreadsheets broken out by every visa subclass in the cited coverage. News reporting focused on total noncitizen SSNs and the political implications; SSA handouts describe procedures and eligibility but the supplied sources do not publish per‑visa statistics for FY2022–FY2024 ^{[3] [8] [4]}.

6. Where to look next if you need visa‑specific numbers

The supplied sources suggest the likely repositories for visa‑level data would be SSA administrative reports or DHS/State Department visa statistics — neither of which is reproduced here with visa‑by‑SSN linkages. For a precise breakdown by visa class you would need either an SSA data release that crosswalks SSN issuance with immigration status or detailed DHS/USCIS/State records that are linked to SSA EBE outputs — available sources do not mention such a dataset in the materials provided ^{[4] [5] [12]}.

7. Alternate interpretations and political context

Coverage shows two competing narratives: one emphasizes the raw, dramatic rise in noncitizen SSN issuances as a policy or security concern; the other stresses that SSNs are routinely issued to lawfully authorized workers and students so they can pay taxes and be tracked in payroll systems, and that the charted rise reflects policy and administrative practices rather than a secret giveaway of benefits ^{[3] [8]}. Reporters and fact‑checkers explicitly warned against conflating issuance counts with claims about mass illegal voting or ineligible benefit access ^{[8] [9]}.

Limitations and closing note: the sources provided here document annual EBE totals and explain SSN eligibility by visa class, but they do not supply the visa‑type counts for 2022–2024 you requested; locating that cross‑tabulation requires primary data from SSA or an agency release not included in the materials reviewed ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}.