The single most common reason entries are thrown out
The specification is precise and it is applied mechanically. A photograph that looks perfectly good to you can fail on a measurement you cannot see by eye.
The numbers it has to hit
- Format
- JPEG (.jpg)
- Dimensions
- 600 x 600 pixels, square
- Maximum file size
- 240 kB
- Colour
- 24-bit colour, not greyscale
- Age of photo
- Taken within the last six months
- Background
- Plain white or off-white, evenly lit
The State Department publishes the definitive specification and can revise it. These figures reflect the current requirement and are re-checked before every entry we submit.
Six rules that decide it
Each of these has ended entries. None of them is obvious from looking at a photograph on a phone screen.
Head position and size
The head, measured from the top of the hair to the bottom of the chin, must occupy between roughly half and just under seventy percent of the image height. Eyes must fall in the upper portion of the frame. Faces that are too small are the most common sizing failure.
Expression and eyes
A neutral expression with both eyes open, looking directly at the camera. No broad smile, no squinting, no head tilt. Red-eye, hair across the eyes and closed eyes all cause rejection.
Glasses
Eyeglasses are not permitted in the photograph. This changed some years ago and still catches people who reuse an older passport-style photo.
Head coverings
Hats and hair coverings are not allowed except when worn daily for religious reasons, and even then the covering must not obscure any part of the face or cast a shadow on it.
Lighting and shadow
Even lighting on the face with no harsh shadows on the face or behind the head. Flash reflections, uneven light from a window and shadows cast on the background are all grounds for rejection.
Never reuse a photograph
A photograph submitted in a previous year's entry, or one used for another family member, will invalidate the entry. Every year needs a genuinely new photograph.
A separate photograph for every person on the entry
Leaving a family member out, or reusing one person's photo for another, invalidates the entry.
- The principal entrant
- Your spouse, if you are married
- Every unmarried child under 21, including step-children and adopted children
- Children who do not live with you and children who do not intend to move to the United States
What we do with your photograph
You send us an ordinary photograph taken against a plain wall. We check it against every point of the specification, crop and resize it to 600 by 600 pixels, compress it under the file size ceiling without degrading it, correct the head position within the permitted range, and confirm the background, lighting and expression pass.
If the photograph cannot be made compliant, we tell you exactly what to retake and why, rather than submitting something that will be rejected. This is repeated for every family member on the entry.
Check your photograph against the specification now
Crop it to 600 x 600 and have the file size, colour, background, exposure and focus measured, in your browser, without uploading anything.