US Visa and DV Lottery Photo: 600×600, Under 240 KB
A US visa or DV lottery photo must be a square colour JPEG of 600 × 600 pixels, 240 kB or smaller, with a plain white background and your head filling 50% to 69% of the height. You can take it at home with a phone and make the file with the free Passport Photo Maker, in your browser, with no sign-up and no upload.
The short answer
- File: JPEG, square, 600 × 600 px (the DS-160 also takes up to 1200 × 1200), 240 kB or less.
- Head: 50% to 69% of the height, chin to top of hair: 300 to 414 px on a 600 px photo.
- Eyes: 56% to 69% of the way up from the bottom: 336 to 414 px from the bottom edge.
- Rules people miss: no glasses, taken in the last six months, white or off-white background, no filters.
The full rules, in one table
| Rule | DV lottery entry | DS-160 visa form |
|---|---|---|
| Size | Exactly 600 × 600 px | 600 × 600 to 1200 × 1200 px, square |
| File | JPEG, 240 kB or less | JPEG, 240 kB or less |
| Colour | Colour (24-bit), not black and white | Colour (24-bit) |
| Head height | 50% to 69% of the image | 50% to 69% of the image |
| Background | Plain white or off-white | Plain white or off-white |
| Age of photo | Taken in the last 6 months | Taken in the last 6 months |
| Glasses | Not allowed | Not allowed |
| Who | A separate photo of you, your spouse and each child listed | One photo of the applicant |
Also: face the camera straight on with a neutral expression and both eyes open; no hat or head covering unless it is worn daily for religious reasons, and then the full face must show; no headphones; no uniform. Changing the background is fine. Changing your face, with a beauty filter, retouching or an AI "enhance", is not.
Take the photo at home
- Face a window in daylight so the light is even on both sides of your face. Flash causes glare and hard shadows, so leave it off.
- Stand about a metre in front of a plain light wall. Standing away from the wall stops your shadow falling on it; the tool replaces the wall with white anyway, but a shadow on your face or neck stays.
- Have someone else take it from 1 to 1.5 metres away, with the phone at your eye level and in normal photo mode. A selfie is too close and makes the nose look bigger. Portrait mode blurs the edges of your hair.
- Keep your head straight, not tilted, with your hair off your face and both ears or the sides of your face visible if you can.
- Leave room: the full head, the neck and the top of the shoulders, with space above your hair. The cropping comes next.
Make the 600 × 600 file
- Open the Passport Photo Maker and add the photo. HEIC photos from an iPhone open directly.
- Set Background to White and Photo size to US 2×2 in (600×600 px). Leave the Model on Fast (people and portraits); it is made for a head-and-shoulders photo and is the smaller first download.
- Press the button. The background is removed by a model that runs in your browser, so the photo stays on your device. The result is a 600 × 600 JPEG.
- Check the head size (next section). The tool frames on your head and shoulders, but it does not measure them against the rule.
- Check the file size in your file manager. If it is over 240 kB, run it through the Image Compressor at 200 KB, which keeps it at 600 × 600.
Check the head size and eye line yourself
This is the rule that home photos break most often. On a 600 px photo:
- Chin to the top of the hair: 300 to 414 px. Under 300 and you are too far away; over 414 and you are too close.
- Eyes: 336 to 414 px up from the bottom edge, which is 186 to 264 px down from the top.
To measure without a ruler, open the 600 × 600 photo in Drawing Grid and set Squares across to 10. Each square is then 60 px, a tenth of the photo:
- Your head, chin to top of hair, should span 5 to just under 7 squares.
- Your eyes should sit between about 3 and 4½ squares down from the top.
Use the grid only to check; upload the photo without it. If the head is too small, go back to the Passport Photo Maker, choose Keep original framing, crop a square yourself in the Image Cropper (ratio 1:1) so the head fills about 6 of 10 squares, and resize it to 600 × 600 with the Image Resizer. If the head is too big, retake the photo from a little further back; there is no way to add shoulders that were not in the shot.
The State Department also has its own free photo cropping tool on travel.state.gov, with the head and eye guides drawn on it. It is a good final check.
Why the upload gets rejected
| Message or problem | Usual cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| File too large | Over 240 kB | Compress to 200 KB |
| Wrong dimensions | Not square, or under 600 px | Passport Photo Maker, US size, or resize a square to 600 × 600 |
| Wrong file type | PNG, HEIC or WebP | Save as JPEG with the Image Converter |
| Photo fails the quality check | Shadows, glare, blur, head too small | Retake in even daylight, closer, with no glasses |
| Background not white | Grey wall, shadow behind the head | Passport Photo Maker with a White background |
For DV lottery entrants
- Enter only on dvprogram.state.gov. The State Department announces the entry dates there. Dates for DV-2028 had not been announced when this was written, so check the site rather than trusting a date on another website.
- Every person listed needs their own new photo, including children. A missing or bad photo for one family member can disqualify the whole entry.
- Do not reuse last year's photo. Submitting the same photo as an earlier entry is treated as not recent.
- Keep your confirmation number and never give it to a photo website. No photo tool needs it.
If you also need a printed 2×2 photo
For a visa interview or a paper application, the same 600 × 600 photo prints at 2 × 2 inches at 300 pixels per inch. Place copies on a 4 × 6 inch canvas with the Photo Collage Maker or Canvas & Border and print it at actual size at any photo counter. The passport photo at home guide covers printing and other countries' sizes.
Frequently asked questions
What size is a DV lottery photo?
A square JPEG of 600 × 600 pixels, 240 kB or smaller. The head, from chin to the top of the hair, must be 50% to 69% of the height, which is 300 to 414 pixels. The State Department checks the file when you submit, and a photo that breaks the rules can disqualify the entry.
What size is a US visa photo for the DS-160?
Square, from 600 × 600 up to 1200 × 1200 pixels, JPEG, 240 kB or smaller, in colour. 600 × 600 is safe for both the DS-160 and the DV entry, which is why the Passport Photo Maker uses it for its US size.
Can I wear glasses in a US visa photo?
No. Since 1 November 2016 glasses are not allowed in US visa or passport photos, except in rare medical cases with a signed doctor's statement. Take them off for the photo. More help: ImgVX AI help docs.
Can I reuse an old photo for the DV lottery?
No. The photo must be taken within the last six months, and using the same photo as a previous year's entry, or an old passport photo, is a common reason for disqualification. Take a new one for each entry and for each family member. Browse: all free image tools.
How do I get a visa photo under 240 KB?
A 600 × 600 JPEG from the Passport Photo Maker is usually well under the limit. If it is not, the Image Compressor at 200 KB brings it below 240 kB without changing the pixel size. Do not save it as PNG: only JPEG is accepted.
Is it safe to make a visa photo online?
With this tool the photo is not uploaded: the background is replaced by a model running in your browser, and the file is made on your device. For any site, avoid ones that ask for your passport number or DV confirmation number just to make a photo; a photo tool never needs them.
Sources: U.S. Department of State, travel.state.gov, "Photo Requirements" and the Diversity Visa entry instructions (digital image size, file size, head and eye height, glasses rule), read on 30 October 2026. The State Department decides whether a photo is accepted; check its pages before you submit. Tool behaviour checked on the Passport Photo Maker page the same day.
Make your 600 × 600 photo now
Free, in your browser, with no sign-up and no watermark.