By Atoyebi Nike
The United States Mission in Nigeria has announced a new requirement for visa applicants, mandating the disclosure of all social media usernames and handles used in the past five years.
The directive was revealed in a post on the Mission’s official X account on Monday, aligning with the U.S. Department of State’s ongoing efforts to strengthen national security through stricter screening procedures.
According to the Mission, applicants must provide a complete list of their social media details on the DS-160 visa application form. Failure to do so, it warned, could result in immediate visa denial and possible ineligibility for future applications.
“Visa applicants are required to list all social media usernames or handles of every platform they have used from the last 5 years on the DS-160 visa application form,” the Mission stated. “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 measure reflects Washington’s heightened focus on digital footprints as part of its vetting process, a policy that has been extended globally to all U.S. visa applicants in recent years.
