US visa photo rules explained
The U.S. Department of State asks for a square photo. For a print, the size is 51x51 mm (2.01 x 2.01 in) at 300 DPI. For the online DS-160, it is a square JPEG from 600x600 to 1200x1200 px, no larger than 240 KB.
- Head size: 25-35 mm from chin to crown, which is 50-69% of the image height.
- Eye line: 28-35 mm from the bottom, or 56-69% of the image height.
- Background: plain white or off-white.
- Glasses: not allowed.
- Head covering: religious reasons only, with the face fully visible.
How to take it at home with a phone
Face a blank wall and use soft, even light. Take off your glasses, put your hair away from your face and look straight at the lens with a neutral expression. Ask someone to take the picture from eye level so your head is not tilted.
Keep the frame loose and include your shoulders. The tool does the cropping, so the head lands in the correct share of the square.
What happens to the photo
The picture is processed in your browser and is not uploaded. It is cropped to a square, the background is made white and the head size and eye line are checked.
Common reasons for rejection
- A file larger than 240 KB, or outside the 600-1200 px square range.
- A non-square crop.
- A head that fills less than 50% or more than 69% of the image height.
- Glasses worn in the photo.
- Shadows or a grey background.
- A head covering that is not worn for religious reasons.
Uploading and printing
For the DS-160, upload the JPG file. The tool provides a square JPEG within the pixel range and size limit. For an in-person interview, you can print at 51x51 mm on photo paper and check it with a ruler. One copy is listed for the nonimmigrant visa.
Immigrant visa (DS-260) applicants bring two printed 2x2 in photos. If an authority rejects the photo, you get a full refund.
Checking the numbers before you submit
The head and eye-line figures can be read two ways: in millimetres on a print, or as a percentage of the image height on a digital file. Both describe the same layout, so a photo that passes one test should pass the other. Look at the preview and confirm that the whole head, including the hair, sits inside the square with a little space above it.
If the DS-160 upload fails, the usual cause is the file size, so use the 240 KB version provided by the tool rather than the original phone picture. Keep one printed copy with you for the interview, in case the consular officer asks for it.