The photo requirements for the US passports, visas and green card (permanent resident PR) are same but it is different for US electronic Diversity Visa Lottery application.
1. The photo size must adhere to 51mm width x 51mm height i.e. it must be 2 inches by 2 inches. It means that the photo dimensions must be in square aspect ratio i.e. the height of the photo must be equal to the width of the photo.
2. The photo must be taken recently within last 6 months of time to ensure your current true appearance. The minimum acceptable photo dimension is 600 pixels x 600 pixels and the maximum acceptable photo dimension is 1200 pixels x 1200 pixels.
3. The head size of the applicant must be between 25mm to 35mm i.e. 1 to 1 3/8 inches. It must be ensured that photo presents bottom chin to top crown of the applicant’s head covering up the photo’s total height from 50% to 69% and the head of person is centered with the photo. The eye height is 28mm to 35mm i.e. the applicant’s eyes must be in a linear position when seen in portrait mode and measure between 1 1/8 to 1 3/8 inches from bottom of the photo.
4. As a photographers’ guide to taking pixel perfect US passport photo so that it is accepted, one must be give a great detail of attention to the camera positioning and lighting. So the camera must be at least 1.25 meters (4 feet) away from the person to be photographed. Also the camera must be placed at eye level of the person and try to minimize the distance from the person to background to eliminate shadows.
5. You need to submit only one photograph with your passport application for US. The photo must be printed in a high quality glossy or matte photographic paper. Submission of your passport photo in high quality is very vital to the decisions made to your application by the US authorities. For more detailed tips and information about the photo paper sizes check out the 10 most popular paper sizes for printing your photos.
6. The photos must not be in black and white exposure or other color combinations. The acceptable passport photo is sharp without any visible pixels or printer dots and the applicant’s face is in focus with evident clarity.
7. The photo must be in color of 24 bits per pixel in sRGB color space. It can be obtained easily because most of the digital camera has this as default outputs. The file format of the photo must be in JPEG file format and the file size must be less than or equal to 240 Kilobytes. If the image is exceeding the file size and hence needs to be compressed to under the maximum file size of 240 Kb then the photo can be compressed in the ratio of less than or equal to 20:1.
8. Brightness and contrast must be adjusted to show the person to be photographed and photo background accurately. Natural facial features obscured by improper color combinations or contrast are not acceptable. So the color of the photo must reproduce the natural skin tones of the person. High fluorescent, bad lighting, camera flashlights with unbalanced color causes bad color cast in the photo which is not acceptable. Improper color balance must be managed too.
9. High contrast due to the overall light and shade in the background causes the person and the color of the photo to be obscuring so to rectify the correct contrast the direction of diffused light onto the person can increase the local contrast and reduce the total contrast. Photos must not be mixed with incandescent and fluorescent lighting. Corrective filters improve the light reaching the camera sensor and removes unnatural color effects. A neutral white card can be used to set the white balance level on modern cameras.
10. The passport photographic background must be in plain white or off-white i.e. the photographed must be taken against a white background that must be directly at the back of the person to be photographed. The applicant’s face and the photo background must be ensured to be well lit and without any obscuring patterns, texts, objects, or distracting shadows. Photo backgrounds with dark, busy and discernible resolution are not acceptable too.
11. The other most important specification to observe is that the background color and the color of the clothing worn must not match each other or even be similar in any extent to obscure the applicant’s true appearance or identity. For best results as correct background, try using the plain white wall of your house or a photographers’ backdrop cloth because ideally the background will be out of focus and the minor markings or texture on the background are not evident on the applicant’s photo.
12. For the infant and babies under the age of 3 years or so who cannot support themselves, the parents are advised to lay down their baby over a plain white or off-white sheet or such clothing and take the photograph so that the baby photo background is same as adults one. Supporting hands or toys alike items are not allowed to be seen. It is best recommended to take photo of them with their eyes wide open and mouths closed.
The passport photo must meet the listed requirements above strictly because the country’s official authorities do not overlook even a minor mistake. Nowadays printers may produce grainy image or dots may be seen and hence such photos are rejected too. So, a continuous tone image with very photo-like image is recommended. While we recommend you use a professional photo service to ensure your photos meet all the requirements, you may opt to take the photo yourself with this awesome trending mobile app “Passport Photo ID Maker Studio” available in Play Store bundled up with great features. It ensures the acceptance of your passport photo because the app is very comfortable with all of the US Passport photo requirements to adhere to. Please remember that photos must not be digitally enhanced or altered to change your appearance in any way. The acceptance of your photo is always at the discretion of the U.S. embassy or consulate where you apply for a passport.
