US visa photo for the DS-160

Which photo your application needs

The kind of photo depends on the form. Nonimmigrant visas filed on the DS-160 or DS-1648 take a digital image uploaded in the form, and some embassies and consulates also ask you to bring one printed photo to the interview. Immigrant visas work the other way round: you hand in two identical prints. This is how the State Department’s visa photo page sorts it:

For the interview print, read the instructions of the embassy or consulate where you apply, since the State Department leaves that to each of them.

Head size and eye line in pixels

The Photo Composition Template gives two sets of numbers. On a printed photo the head measures 1 to 1 3/8 inches from the bottom of the chin to the top of the hair, and the eyes sit 1 1/8 to 1 3/8 inches above the bottom edge. In a digital image the same rules become shares of the height: the head 50 to 69% and the eye line 56 to 69% up from the bottom.

In a 600 x 600 file that means a head of 300 to 414 pixels with the eyes 336 to 414 pixels above the bottom edge. In a 1200 x 1200 file it is a head of 600 to 828 pixels with the eyes 672 to 828 pixels up. The tool aims for the middle of the head range, and the blue band on the guide marks the eye zone, so you can see at once whether your eyes fall inside it.

File rules for the upload

The Digital Image Requirements ask for a colour JPEG in sRGB, which most cameras produce, square, at least 600 x 600 and at most 1200 x 1200 pixels, and 240 KB or smaller, with a compression ratio of 20:1 or less. A 600 x 600 colour image holds 1,080,000 bytes before compression, so 20:1 works out at about 54 KB. A file far below that has been squeezed too hard, and the US visa format here keeps it between 54 and 240 KB.

If you only have a printed photo, the rules allow a scan of it at 300 pixels per inch, which turns a 2 x 2 inch print into 600 x 600 pixels. Copies or scans of a driver’s licence or another official document are not accepted, and neither are snapshots, magazine photos, or low quality vending machine or mobile phone photos.

The State Department also offers a free photo tool that crops a picture to exactly 600 x 600 pixels. It says that tool is intended for cropping only, and that one of its employees makes the final decision on whether a photo is acceptable. We make the same square crop with head and eye guides, keep the file size in range, and can print copies; neither tool can promise that a photo will be accepted.

Glasses, clothing and expression

Glasses have not been allowed in new visa photos since 1 November 2016, except in rare cases where they cannot be removed for medical reasons, such as recent eye surgery, with a statement signed by a medical professional. Hearing devices you normally wear can stay on; headphones and wireless hands-free devices cannot.

Wear the clothes you normally wear every day. Uniforms are out, except religious clothing worn daily, and a hat or head covering is allowed only when worn daily for a religious purpose, with the full face visible and no shadow on it. Look straight at the camera with a neutral expression and both eyes open, and photograph a baby lying on a plain white sheet or in a car seat covered with one.

Official sources

We read each page on 13 October 2026. Rules change, so open the official page before you apply.

• US Department of State: visa Photo Requirements
• US Department of State: Digital Image Requirements
• US Department of State: Photo Composition Template