The United States Mission in Nigeria has announced an intensified scrutiny of Nigerian students’ social media accounts applying for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas.
This comes after U.S. President Donald Trump rolled out a new policy that required international students to make their social media profiles public.
In a press statement via the United States Diplomatic Mission Nigeria’s official X page on Monday, the statement said students hoping to travel to the U.S. for educational and exchange purposes are required to adhere to the rules.
The U.S. embassy said the policy is to vet Nigerian students’ social media and identify individuals “who pose a threat to the U.S.”
The statement reads in part: “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.’
“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 U.S., 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.”
