US Begins Social Media Screening for Nigerian Student Visa Applicants.
By Caroline Ameh
The United States Mission in Nigeria has officially commenced a new round of digital vetting measures for Nigerian applicants seeking F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas, mandating public access to their personal social media accounts as part of the visa application process.
The directive, announced Monday via the US Embassy’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle, requires all prospective students and exchange visitors to adjust the privacy settings on their social media profiles to “public.” The measure takes immediate effect.
“Effective immediately, all individuals applying for an F, M, or J nonimmigrant visa are requested to adjust the privacy settings on all of their personal social media accounts to ‘public’,” the embassy stated.
According to the consulate, the move is designed to “facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States.”
“We use all available information in our visa screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the United States, including those who pose a threat to U.S. national security,” the statement added.
This enhanced scrutiny aligns with broader U.S. immigration policy changes dating back to 2019, when visa applicants were first required to include their social media identifiers on both immigrant and nonimmigrant application forms.
“Every visa adjudication is a national security decision,” the embassy reiterated, emphasizing that social media activity is now a key component of applicant evaluation.
The new policy also reflects the U.S. Department of State’s June 18, 2025, publication outlining an expansion of digital vetting procedures, particularly for student and exchange visitor visa categories.
The U.S. government emphasized that the issuance of a visa is a discretionary process, stating clearly that “a visa is a privilege, not a right.”
The embassy’s move is part of a larger global trend by U.S. authorities to intensify screening protocols amid evolving security concerns and technological advancements.
