Henceforth, Nigerians applying for a travel visa to the United States of America are required to provide the social media handles used over the past five years as part of the visa application process. Announcing the development on Monday, August 18, the United States Mission in Nigeria said that Nigerian visa applicants must provide a comprehensive list of their social media profiles on the DS-160 visa application form, the US Department of State’s form for all non-immigrant visa applications.

This comes as the Department of State recently reiterated its commitment to bolstering US national security through enhanced screening measures. The Nigeria Mission warned that any incorrect details or errors in information will lead to denial and future ineligibility. 

“Visa applicants are required to list all social media usernames or handles of every platform they have used in the last 5 years on the DS-160 visa application form,’’ the post read.

“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.”

This includes temporary travel to the US for tourism, business, K-1 fiancé(e) and education. According to reports, Nigeria was the seventh largest source of international students to the US, and the highest in Africa, in 2024.

For the US, this is part of Donald Trump’s broader plan to strengthen the country’s national security by ensuring immigrants pose no threat to the United States and its citizens. The Western giant had in July changed its non-immigrant visa policy. Nearly all non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas issued to citizens of Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana and Nigeria were restricted to single entry and valid for only three months, a deviation from its previous policy which often allowed for multiple entries over two years or more.

The US justified the change on the basis of global reciprocity, which in Nigeria’s case had meant 5-year non-immigrant visas for US citizens. However, Nigeria’s federal government denied the premise on which the policy was initiated.

“We want to reiterate that the US government’s claim of reciprocity as the reason for its current visa policy towards Nigeria does not accurately reflect the actual situation,” Bayo Onanuga, the Presidential spokesperson, said in July while announcing the government’s commitment to further dialogue with US authorities to resolve any issues that led to the recent developments.

The administration of Donald Trump has been notorious for its immigration policies since its second swearing-in in January 2025. Before now, a crackdown in February revealed that among roughly 1.4 million non-citizens slated for deportation, nearly 3,690 Nigerians were marked for removal. Additionally, there were moves to end birthright citizenship for children born to undocumented immigrants within the country’s borders.