The United States Embassy in Nigeria has issued a new directive requiring all applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas—primarily students and exchange visitors—to immediately set their personal social media accounts to ‘public’.
In a statement posted on its official social media platforms, the embassy described the move as part of strengthened national security measures, noting that “every visa adjudication is a national security decision.” The change is intended to enhance the vetting process by improving the ability to verify applicants’ identities and determine their admissibility to the U.S.
The embassy highlighted that since 2019, visa applicants have been required to provide their social media identifiers on both immigrant and nonimmigrant application forms. The latest update builds on that policy by allowing consular officers to review publicly accessible social media content as part of the screening process.
All available information, including online activity, may be used to identify individuals who pose security risks or are otherwise inadmissible to the United States, the embassy emphasized.
