The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria has announced that all applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas—covering academic, vocational, and exchange programs—must now make their personal social media profiles public as part of a new visa vetting policy.
The directive, effective immediately, was disclosed via the embassy’s official Instagram page. According to the announcement, this change is part of efforts to improve identity verification and assess eligibility.“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 embassy stated.
The new rule builds on an existing policy introduced in 2019, which required visa applicants to provide social media identifiers. The recent update mandates applicants in the F, M, and J visa categories to set all social media profiles to public, allowing U.S. officials full access during background checks.
In a June 18 update, the U.S. Department of State emphasized the importance of online vetting, stating that “a U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right,” and reaffirming the government’s commitment to rigorous security procedures throughout the visa process.
Visa appointments for F, M, and J applicants will soon resume, and interested individuals are advised to monitor embassy and consulate websites for scheduling updates.
