All countries · How the photograph reaches the authority
USCIS stopped accepting your photograph
On 12 December 2025 USCIS stopped accepting photographs submitted by applicants. It takes one at the biometrics appointment instead. This does not apply to the State Department, and the difference decides whether you need a file at all.
Checked 6 August 2026 · USCIS policy alert, 12 December 2025
The policy alert is specific. Only photographs collected by USCIS or another authorised entity are used, and a previously collected one is reusable only if it was taken within the last 36 months. Four forms require a fresh photograph regardless of when the applicant was last photographed: I-90 to replace a permanent resident card, I-485 to adjust status, N-400 for naturalisation, and N-600 for a certificate of citizenship.
The reason it is easy to get wrong is that "green card" names two different routes through two different agencies. Adjustment of status inside the United States is USCIS, and there is now nothing for you to prepare. An immigrant visa applied for at a consulate abroad is the State Department, and it still wants a photograph from you.
Everything the State Department runs is unchanged. The DS-160 for a non-immigrant visa still takes an uploaded 600 × 600 file. The DS-11 for a passport still takes a printed 2 × 2. The Diversity Visa entry still takes a photograph the entrant supplies, and a non-compliant one still disqualifies the entry.
USCIS gave its reason plainly: pandemic-era flexibility had allowed photographs to be reused for up to ten years even when someone's appearance had changed considerably, and that was kept in place longer than it needed to be.
USCIS form: you are photographed there, prepare nothing. State Department form — DS-160, DS-11, DV entry: prepare a photograph as before.
The documents this concerns
- US visa photo (DS-160) White background, 2×2 inches, head between 50 % and 69 % of the height.
- US passport photo White background, 2×2 inches, head 1 to 1⅜ inches.
- US DV Lottery photo (Green Card lottery) White background, 2×2 inches. A non-compliant photo disqualifies the entry, and there is no second chance until next year.
- Check an existing photo Already have a file? Drop it here and see which requirements it meets. Nothing is uploaded — the checks run in your browser.
This is an independent site, not a government body. Requirements change, so check them against the official source before you apply. We promise a photo that matches the published specification. We never promise that an application will be approved.