Nigeria Dreams Under Scrutiny: U.S. Resumes Student Visas with Social Media Vetting

The U.S. has resumed processing student visas for Nigerian applicants, but has ended the Drop Box renewal option, previously used to skip interviews. The replacement? Mandatory screening of applicants’ social media accounts.

This move is part of the U.S. Department of State’s new security policy aimed at closer scrutiny of foreign students. All applicants under F, M, and J categories must now grant public visibility to their online profiles.

• The Dropbox interview waiver is no longer available for Nigerian student visa applicants.
• Social media profiles must be accessible for vetting.
• Applies to F (academic), M (vocational), and J (exchange visitor) visa categories.
• Rep Oluwole Oke says the decision is the U.S.'s "prerogative."
• Over 20,000 Nigerians are currently studying in the U.S, the highest from Africa.

This isn’t just about paperwork, it’s about privacy, perception, and policy. For a generation raised online, the requirement to hand over your digital footprint may feel invasive. But to the U.S., it’s risk management. For Nigeria, it's one more reminder of how global trust is no longer automatic, even for its brightest minds.

When nations treat social media profiles as threat assessments, does security become surveillance, or wisdom become fear?