US visa photo (DS-160) photo requirements

The DS-160 online visa application uploads a square digital photo: JPEG, between 600×600 and 1200×1200 pixels, no larger than 240 kilobytes, in 24-bit colour. The head must fill 50–69 per cent of the height and the eyes sit 56–69 per cent of the way up from the bottom, on a plain white or off-white background, with no glasses. The photo is the same 2×2 inch framing as the US passport photo.

Make and check a US visa DS-160 photo Free checker; files from A$6.99.

Can I take it myself? Yes

Yes. The State Department accepts photos you take at home provided they are not selfies, are unedited and meet the digital rules. The CEAC upload tool runs its own quality check and the 240 KB limit catches most people out; the export here searches JPEG quality so the file lands under 240 KB at the highest quality that fits. Bring a printed copy to the interview as well.

How to take the photo

1. Use a plain white or off-white wall, stand half a metre away from it and face a window. No flash.
2. Someone else takes the photo from about 1.2 metres at eye level with head and shoulders in frame. Selfies are rejected.
3. Take off glasses; they have not been allowed in US visa photos since 2016. No headphones or hats; religious head coverings must show the whole face.
4. Neutral expression or a natural closed-mouth smile, both eyes open and looking at the camera.
5. Wear normal clothes in a colour that contrasts with the white wall. No uniforms or camouflage.
6. Use the original camera file. The upload will refuse an image under 600×600 px, and screenshots usually are.

Why US visa DS-160 photos get rejected

1. File over 240 KB. Use the DS-160 preset here; it compresses to just under the limit without resizing below 600 px.
2. Glasses. Remove them and retake.
3. Head too small or eyes too low. Head 50–69 per cent of the height, eyes 56–69 per cent from the bottom. The checker shows both in millimetres on the 2×2 frame.
4. Background not white or off-white. Retake against a white wall. Edited backgrounds are refused at the interview even if the upload passes.
5. Shadows on face or wall. Face the light and step away from the wall.
6. Not square or wrong format. Square JPEG only. The export here is 1200×1200.
7. Photo older than six months. Take a fresh one before the interview.

Infants and children

Babies may have their eyes closed and mouth open and need not look at the camera. Lay the baby on a plain white sheet and shoot from above, or cover a car seat with a white sheet. No hands, dummies or other people in the frame. Each child applying needs their own DS-160 and photo.

Step by step: CEAC DS-160

1. Start the DS-160 on CEAC, save your application ID, and work through the personal and travel sections.
2. At the photo step choose Upload Your Photo and select the DS-160 JPEG from this tool. CEAC's photo tool checks size, format and face position and tells you if it fails.
3. If the upload fails quality checks you can still submit and bring a printed 2×2 photo to the interview; print ours at a pharmacy kiosk.
4. Submit, print the confirmation page with the barcode, and book the interview.

Open CEAC DS-160

What it costs

Walgreens and CVS charge about US$15–17 for printed visa photos and some offer a digital copy. Our Single licence is US$4.99 for the DS-160 file plus print sheets for 30 days, and it counts as the same document as the US passport photo, so one licence covers both.

Retailer pages: Walgreens , CVS , Walmart .