The United States Mission in Nigeria has issued a directive mandating visa applicants to provide details of all social media usernames and handles used in the past five years, warning that omission of such information could result in visa denial.
The policy, announced on Monday via the Mission’s official X account, is part of stricter security screening measures by the US Department of State aimed at strengthening national security.
According to the directive, Nigerians seeking US visas must disclose a comprehensive list of their social media profiles on the DS-160 application form.
The Mission stressed that failure to include this information could render applicants ineligible for present and future visa approvals.
The statement read, “Visa applicants are required to list all social media usernames or handles of every platform they have used from the last five years on the DS-160 visa application form.
Applicants certify that the information in their visa application is true and correct before they sign and submit. Omitting social media information could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for future visas.”
The development has sparked concerns among prospective travelers, with many describing it as an additional hurdle in the already rigorous US visa process.
