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DS-160 visa photo requirements
The DS-160 uploader is one of the strictest in US government. It is also routinely confused with the passport renewal photo, which has completely different rules. Here is each, so you upload the right one.
The specification. Square. Between 600×600 and 1200×1200 pixels. 24-bit colour JPEG only. Must not exceed 240 KB. PNG, HEIC, GIF and TIFF are rejected.
| Requirement | DS-160 visa photo |
|---|---|
| Shape | Square — height must equal width |
| Minimum dimensions | 600 × 600 pixels |
| Maximum dimensions | 1200 × 1200 pixels |
| Format | JPEG only, 24-bit colour |
| Maximum file size | 240 KB |
| Rejected formats | PNG, HEIC, GIF, TIFF |
Checked against travel.state.gov digital image guidance in August 2026.
This is not the same as the passport photo
This trips up a large number of applicants. The two specifications are genuinely different:
| DS-160 visa | Passport renewal | |
|---|---|---|
| File size | Max 240 KB | 54 KB – 10 MB |
| Format | JPEG only | JPG, JPEG, HEIF |
| Print size | — | 2 × 2 in (51 × 51 mm) |
| Head size | — | 1 to 1.4 in (25–35 mm) |
Upload a 3 MB photo to the DS-160 because you read the passport rules and it is refused. Upload a 240 KB photo where a passport renewal wanted more and it may be refused as too low quality.
The 240 KB trap. A phone selfie is around 4 MB. Getting to 240 KB is a roughly 94% reduction. Compress it by quality alone and the face turns to blocks. The right approach is to crop to the exact square first, resize to 600×600, and only then compress — at that pixel count, 240 KB is comfortable rather than tight.
Why photos get rejected beyond the file specification
- Taken more than six months ago
- Shadow on the face or on the background
- Background not plain white or off-white
- Glasses (generally not permitted)
- Head not centred, or the wrong proportion of the frame
- Blurred, grainy or pixelated
Software can fix the file specification, the lighting and the framing. It cannot fix a photo taken two years ago or a head turned to one side — retake those.
Get an exact 600×600 JPEG under 240 KB
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