DV Lottery Photo Requirements: Size, File Size and Common Mistakes

The Diversity Visa (DV) program, often called the Green Card lottery, asks for a digital photo with strict limits on size, file type and content. A photo that doesn’t meet them can get an entry rejected. This guide covers what the photo has to look like, how to get the file size right, and the mistakes to avoid.

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What the DV photo has to look like

The DV photo follows the U.S. State Department’s visa photo standard, and it’s a digital upload, not a print. These are the main points:

• File type: JPEG (.jpg).
• Dimensions: square, 600 × 600 pixels.
• File size: 240 KB or smaller.
• Color: 24-bit color, not black and white.
• Head size: the head, from chin to the top of the head, fills about 50 to 69 percent of the image height. Your eyes sit about 56 to 69 percent up from the bottom.
• Background: plain white or off-white, no shadows or patterns.
• Face: straight on, both eyes open, neutral expression or a natural smile.
• Glasses: not allowed.
• Age of the photo: taken within the last 6 months.

The exact wording and the rules for the current entry period are on the State Department’s page: travel.state.gov photo requirements. Read it before you enter, because details can change from one registration period to the next.

Each person needs a photo

If you’re entering with a spouse and children, every person on the entry has to have their own photo. Everyone takes a separate picture. Don’t crop one person out of a family photo, and don’t reuse an old photo that doesn’t match how the person looks now.

Babies and young children are the hardest to photograph. Lay a baby on a plain white sheet and shoot from above, and make sure no hands, toys or blankets show in the picture.

Getting under 240 KB without a blurry photo

Most phone photos are several megabytes. To get one down to 240 KB at 600 × 600 pixels, you have to crop it to a square first, resize it to the exact pixel size, and then save it as a JPEG with enough compression to land under the limit. If you compress it too hard, it looks blocky and blurry, and details like eyes can be lost.

The reliable approach is to crop first, resize second, and compress last, and to check the file size and the pixel size on the finished file. A file that’s 600 × 600 but 300 KB will still be refused.

Common mistakes

• Wrong size or shape. A rectangle, or a square at the wrong pixel size.
• Head too small. Taking the photo from too far away, then cropping, leaves a tiny face in a big frame.
• Shadows or a gray wall. The background should look white, not gray or cream-colored with a shadow.
• Glasses, hats or head coverings. Glasses aren’t allowed. Head coverings are only for religious or medical reasons, with the face fully visible.
• Filters and edits. Beauty filters and retouching aren’t allowed.
• A picture of a printed photo. It usually has glare, skew or soft focus. Take a direct digital photo instead.

Beware of look-alike sites

Entering the DV program is free, and you enter on the official U.S. government website. Photo and “application help” sites that charge you to enter aren’t the government. Use the link on travel.state.gov to find the official entry page.

Doing it with Passport Photo Studio

Passport Photo Studio has a Green Card (DV Lottery) document that sets the crop, the size and the file limit for you.

1. On the home screen, search for DV or Green Card and choose Green Card (DV Lottery).
2. Check the Requirements card. It shows the 2 × 2 inch square, the head size, the white background and the digital file limit (600 × 600 px, under 240 KB). Tap Official requirements to open the State Department page.
3. Tap Take Photo and use the live guidance, or tap Choose from Photos. Stand in front of a plain, light wall in soft light, and remove your glasses.
4. On Your Photo, the app crops, straightens and replaces the background, then runs its Automatic checks for head size, background, tilt, eyes open, lighting and sharpness. Use Adjust or Retake if a check is marked.
5. When the photo looks right, tap Save & Print and unlock it. The preview before that is free.
6. Under Digital photo, tap Share or Save. That’s the JPEG for the online entry form. Do one for each person on the entry.

Check the finished file against the current official instructions before you upload it. The State Department makes the final decision on every photo.

Related guides

• US Passport Photo Requirements: Size, Head Position and Background
• How to Take a Passport Photo at Home With Your iPhone

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