VISA: US Embassy begins screening of Nigerian students’ social media accounts | READ DETAILS
Effective immediately, all individuals applying for an F, M, or J nonimmigrant visa are requested to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media accounts to ‘public’ to facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States under U.S. law.
Pursuant to the Presidential Proclamation on Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats, which takes effect at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on June 9, 2025, the United States is suspending or limiting entry and visa issuance to nationals of certain countries. Applicants who are subject to this Presidential Proclamation may still submit visa applications and attend scheduled interviews, but they may be ineligible for visa issuance or admission to the United States. For additional details, visit travel.state.gov .
The United States Mission in Nigeria has announced that all applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas must now adjust their social media account’s privacy settings to “public.”
F, M, and J visas are nonimmigrant visa categories issued by the US government for individuals coming to the country for educational and exchange purposes.
The mission stated that applicants in those categories must now set their personal social media profiles to public, as part of a new visa requirement.
The development was announced via the United States Diplomatic Mission Nigeria’s official X page on Monday, noting the update was effective immediately.
“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 post read.
According to the post, the change is meant to complement vetting efforts aimed at determining applicants’ identities and their 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 US national security,” the post said.
The US, while earlier announcing the plan for the update in June, maintained that its visa “is a privilege, not a right.”
On June 18, 2025, the US Department of State published on its website that under the new guidance, “we will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting, including online presence, of all student and exchange visitor applicants in the F, M, and J nonimmigrant classifications.”
“To facilitate this vetting, all applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas will be instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to ‘public.’”
The statement added, “Every visa adjudication is a national security decision.
“The United States must be vigilant during the visa-issuance process to ensure that those applying for admission into the United States do not intend to harm Americans and our national interests and that all applicants credibly establish their eligibility for the visa sought, including that they intend to engage in activities consistent with the terms for their admission.”
“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. Since 2019, the United States has required visa applicants to provide social media identifiers on immigrant and nonimmigrant visa application forms.”
