US Embassy in Nigeria Newly Updates Visa Screening Process in 2025, Explains It Clearly
- The United States Embassy in Nigeria has introduced a new visa vetting requirement aimed at strengthening national security
- Applicants seeking F, M, or J nonimmigrant visas must now make their personal social media accounts public to facilitate identity verification
- This update follows a broader 2019 policy that requires all US visa applicants to provide their social media identifiers during application
The United States Embassy in Nigeria announced a significant change to its visa application vetting procedure on Sunday, 7 July.
Applicants seeking nonimmigrant visas under the F, M, or J categories are now required to set all personal social media accounts to public visibility.
Source: Getty Images
This directive takes immediate effect.
According to the embassy, this measure is aimed at strengthening national security through enhanced identity verification and admissibility assessments.
Officials stated that every visa adjudication represents a national security decision, and social media access has become a critical component of visa screening.
New requirements for F, M, and J US visas
The embassy’s post, shared via its official X (formerly Twitter) account, reads:
“Every visa adjudication is a national security decision. 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’ to facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States.”
This new requirement supplements an existing policy introduced in 2019, which mandates visa applicants to provide their social media identifiers as part of both immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applications.
US visa vetting and national security
In an accompanying statement, the embassy emphasised:
“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 move signals a stricter interpretation of social media transparency in US visa applications and is part of broader efforts to reinforce border security and prevent inadmissible individuals from entering the country.
This update is expected to impact students, exchange visitors, and vocational trainees in Nigeria who intend to pursue academic or professional opportunities in the United States under these visa categories.
See the X post below:
US visa process under Trump
Under President Donald Trump’s second term, US visa policies have shifted toward stricter scrutiny and national security-focused vetting.
Immigration experts report increased denial rates, longer processing times, and heightened documentation requirements—particularly for H-1B work visas and F-1 student visas.
The administration has also proposed fixed visa durations for international students, replacing the previous “duration of status” model, and expanded social media screening as part of the vetting process.
Source: Getty Images
US embassy moves to new service provider
Legit.ng earlier reported that the United States Mission in Nigeria has unveiled a new service provider for Nigerians. The announcement which was made public on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday showed that, with the new service provider, applicants can apply for their visas as well as book appointments.
Other services include: payment of visa application fee, and account creation.Other services include: payment of visa application fee, and account creation.
Source: Legit.ng
