Abuja, Nigeria – The United States Mission in Nigeria has announced a new requirement for all applicants seeking F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas: their social media account privacy settings must now be set to “public.”
The announcement was made via the United States Diplomatic Mission Nigeria’s official X page on Monday, stating the update was effective immediately. F, M, and J visas are non-immigrant categories issued by the US government to individuals travelling to the country for educational and exchange purposes.
According to the post, this change is intended 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 read.
The US had previously announced this plan in June, emphasizing that a visa “is a privilege, not a right.” On June 18, 2025, the US Department of State published guidance on its website stating, “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.”
The statement further explained, “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.’” It 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.”
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