US visa rules: We’ll enforce same treatments on Americans — FG

The Federal Government has vowed to impose reciprocal measures on United States citizens seeking Nigerian visas, following the introduction of new US visa regulations that mandate applicants to submit details of their social media history and other online activities.

Reacting to the development, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said Nigeria will not hesitate to subject American applicants to the same requirements.

“We are aware of the development. I think it’s part of the new measures they informed us about before implementation.

“On things of this nature, the best we can do is to carry out reciprocal action. Some people from the US might want to apply for a visa, and we will adopt the same measures,” he said.

Ebienfa explained that the government would convene an inter-agency meeting involving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior, and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to agree on the best holistic response to the new US visa rules.

He added: “The government will have an inclusive meeting that will involve the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior and also our National Intelligence Agency, NIA.

“So, the stakeholders that are involved will have a meeting and agree on our best way to respond to it holistically.”

Tribune Online reports that the US Mission in Nigeria had earlier announced that visa applicants must now provide their User IDs, email addresses, usernames, handles, and telephone numbers used on all platforms in the last five years

According to the Mission, failure to provide accurate details, it warned, could lead to visa denial and ineligibility for future entry into the US.

The new directive, part of immigration tightening measures introduced by the Trump administration, expands earlier rules targeting international student visa applicants and is aimed at enhancing national security.

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