US Embassy begins screening Nigerian students’ social media accounts

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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.” Punch