ABUJA — The United States government has introduced a new visa regulation mandating Nigerian applicants to disclose their social media handles, email addresses, phone numbers, and online activity covering the past five years, warning that failure to comply could lead to visa denial or future ineligibility.
The US Mission in Nigeria, in a statement posted on its official X handle yesterday, emphasized that applicants must provide full details of their online presence on the DS-160 visa application form. Defaulters risk outright refusal of their applications.
“Visa applicants are required to list all social media usernames or handles of every platform they have used from the last five years… Omitting social media information could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for future visas,” the Mission stated.
The measure, which expands earlier restrictions placed on student visa applicants, is part of a wider immigration tightening agenda under President Donald Trump’s administration, aimed at bolstering national security.
As part of the new rules, applicants must list all usernames, handles, screen names, email addresses, and telephone numbers used across any platform or application within the last five years. Multiple accounts or identities on the same platform must also be disclosed.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department disclosed that over 6,000 student visas have been revoked in the last seven months over alleged visa violations, lawbreaking, and activities deemed contrary to U.S. foreign policy interests.
FG Promises Retaliation
Reacting swiftly, the Federal Government of Nigeria said it will enforce reciprocal measures against U.S. citizens seeking visas to Nigeria.
Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, confirmed that the U.S. had notified Nigeria before rolling out the new rule, stressing that reciprocity will guide Nigeria’s response.
“So, on things of this nature, the best we can do is carry out reciprocal action. Some people from the US might want to apply for a visa, and we will adopt the same measures. Anything visa is reciprocal,” Ebienfa said.
He added that the Federal Government will convene an inter-agency meeting involving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior, and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to determine the best holistic response.
The new U.S. visa regulation comes amid a series of recent restrictions affecting Nigerians, including the limitation of non-immigrant visas to single-entry, three-month validity, as part of Washington’s broader global visa reciprocity policy.
Comments