The United States Mission in Nigeria has announced that all non-immigrant visa applicants must now provide details of their social media accounts from the past five years. The directive was shared on the mission’s X handle yesterday.

According to the embassy, Nigerian applicants are required to disclose usernames or handles from every platform used within the period when completing the DS-160 visa application form.

“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.

“Applicants certify that the information in their visa application is true and correct before they sign and submit,” the statement read. The mission warned that omitting such information could result in visa denial and render applicants ineligible for future visas.

The DS-160 is the standard online form required for most US non-immigrant visas, including temporary business (B-1), tourism (B2), student visas (F and M), and work-related categories such as the H-1B.