US Visa & DV Lottery Digital Photo: requirements and cropper
United States specifies the photo in pixels rather than millimetres: 600 × 600 px. The head must measure 22–35 mm from the crown of the head to the bottom of the chin. The background must be plain white or off-white. Digital uploads must be no larger than 240 KB. The photo must have been taken within the last 6 months.
Crop a photo to the United States spec
Drag the two markers. Put the blue one on the very top of the head — including hair — and the red one on the bottom of the chin. Every measurement below is calculated from that, because United States measures head height as 22–35 mm crown to chin, not the face.
Your photo
Result
The official requirements
| Head height | 22–35 mm, crown to chin · 50–69% of image height |
|---|---|
| Background | Plain white or off-white |
| Digital dimensions | 600 × 600 px (up to 1200 × 1200 px) |
| File size | up to 240 KB |
| File format | JPEG |
| How recent | Taken within the last 6 months |
| Glasses | Eyeglasses are no longer accepted, except in rare cases where they cannot be removed for medical reasons. Frames must not cover the eyes and there must be no glare, shadow or refraction. |
| Head coverings | Permitted only if worn daily for a religious purpose. The full face must be visible with no shadow cast on it. |
| Expression & pose | Neutral expression with both eyes open, looking directly at the camera. |
| Children & infants | No other person may appear in the photo. The child should look at the camera with eyes open. |
| Not published | printed photo size, minimum resolution, copies required — the official source does not state these, so nothing is shown rather than a number we made up. |
Source: U.S. Department of State — Digital Image Requirements — read 2026-07-26.
Worth knowing
The image must be square — height equal to width. The State Department also specifies 24-bit colour, the sRGB colour space, and a compression ratio no greater than 20:1. This is the spec that trips people up most often: a compliant-looking photo is rejected purely for exceeding 240 KB.
How to make one
- Take or choose a photo shot straight on, from about arm's length or further, in even light with no shadow falling on the face or the wall behind it. Phone selfies taken close up distort the face and are a common rejection reason.
- Stand far enough from the wall that you cast no shadow on it. The background needs to be plain white or off-white — the tool fills only the area outside your photo's edges, it does not replace the wall behind you.
- Drop the photo into the tool above. Nothing is uploaded; the file is read directly by your browser.
- Drag the blue marker to the very top of the head, including hair, and the red marker to the bottom of the chin. This is the measurement every official spec is written against.
- Check the head-height readout. It should sit between 22 mm and 35 mm; the panel turns green when it does.
- Download the photo. If the result would exceed the 240 KB upload limit, it is compressed to fit before saving.
Why United States photos get rejected
Drawn from the official guidance rather than guesswork. Most rejections are not about dimensions at all:
- File larger than 240 KB
- Image not exactly square
- Below 600 × 600 px or above 1200 × 1200 px
- Head height outside 50–69% of the image height
- Eyeglasses worn without a medical exception
- Photo older than six months
The file size trap
A correctly framed photo still gets rejected if the file is too large. United States caps uploads at 240 KB . The cropper above compresses to fit automatically when you download. If you already have a correctly framed photo and only need it resized, the compress tool will hit an exact target without touching the framing.
United States photo questions
Is my photo uploaded anywhere?
No. The cropping, resizing and compressing all happen inside this page, using your browser's own image APIs. There is no server to upload to — the site is static files. Open your browser's network tab, use the tool, and you can watch nothing leave.
It also keeps working with your Wi-Fi switched off once the page has loaded.
What is the maximum file size?
240 KB. This is where a lot of otherwise-valid photos fail — the framing is right but the file is too big. The compress tool will hit an exact target if you already have a correctly framed photo.
Can this tool change my background?
No, and that is deliberate. Background replacement means guessing where your hair ends, and the guess is visible — a halo or a chewed-up fringe is exactly the kind of artefact that gets a photo rejected as digitally altered. United States requires plain white or off-white, so photograph yourself against a matching wall.
The fill colour setting only paints the area outside your photo's edges when the required crop is larger than the image you supplied.
How recent does the photo have to be?
Taken within the last 6 months. Reusing the photo from your previous passport is a standard rejection reason.
Can I wear glasses?
Eyeglasses are no longer accepted, except in rare cases where they cannot be removed for medical reasons. Frames must not cover the eyes and there must be no glare, shadow or refraction.
Are head coverings allowed?
Permitted only if worn daily for a religious purpose. The full face must be visible with no shadow cast on it.
Do the rules differ for babies and children?
No other person may appear in the photo. The child should look at the camera with eyes open.
Will a photo from this tool definitely be accepted?
Nobody can promise that, and any site that does is selling you certainty it does not have. A photo is judged on framing, background, lighting, expression, sharpness and how recent it is. This tool handles the geometry and the file size precisely; the rest is down to how the photo was taken. The requirements here were read from U.S. Department of State — Digital Image Requirements on 2026-07-26 — check the source before you submit, because rules change.
Other specs
- Schengen Visa Photo 35 × 45 mm · head 70–80% · plain
- UK Visa Photo Upload plain light-coloured background · max 6 MB
This is not official advice. img-fix is not affiliated with any government or immigration authority. The figures on this page were read from U.S. Department of State — Digital Image Requirements on 2026-07-26, and requirements change without notice. Check the official source before you submit.