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Green card photo requirements, and the three that get people rejected
The USCIS photo standard is short, and almost everyone gets the same three things wrong: the background is not plain, the head is the wrong size in the frame, or the photo is older than six months. Here is the whole spec, and how to hit it with a phone.
The short answer. 2×2 inches square (51×51 mm), between 600×600 and 1200×1200 pixels, in colour, on a plain white or off-white background, taken within the last 6 months, with the head measuring 1 inch to 1⅜ inch (25–35 mm) from chin to crown.
The full spec
| What | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Print size | 2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm), square |
| Pixel size | 600 × 600 minimum, 1200 × 1200 maximum |
| Head height | 1 in to 1⅜ in (25–35 mm), chin to top of head |
| Background | Plain white or off-white, no pattern, no shadow |
| Age of photo | Taken within the last 6 months |
| Expression | Neutral or natural smile, both eyes open |
| Glasses | Not permitted, apart from documented medical reasons |
| Head covering | Only for religious or medical reasons, face fully visible |
Checked against the published USCIS photo guidance in August 2026. Agencies revise these without notice — confirm on the form instructions before you file.
The three that actually get rejected
1. The background is not plain
A white wall is not the same as a plain white background. Stand a foot or two away from the wall and your own shadow falls behind your head, which reads as a pattern. Move further from the wall, not closer, and face a window rather than a lamp — light coming from in front of you leaves nothing to cast.
2. The head is the wrong size in the frame
This is the most common failure and the hardest to eyeball. On a 600×600 photo, a 1 inch head is 300 pixels and a 1⅜ inch head is 412. If your head fills the frame it is too big; if you can see your whole torso it is too small. Crop so the head and the top of the shoulders fill the square.
3. It is a photo of a photo
Photographing an old printed passport photo produces moiré, a colour cast from the paper, and a visible border. Take a new photo. It also has to be from the last six months, and a reviewer comparing it to your other documents can usually tell.
The green card photo is not the DS-160 photo. They look similar and they are not interchangeable: DS-160 has a hard 240 KB file cap and takes JPEG only, while the USCIS 2×2 has no such cap. Using one spec for the other form is a common and avoidable rejection.
Taking it with a phone
- Face a window. No flash — flash flattens the face and throws a shadow behind the head.
- Have someone shoot from about four feet away, at eye level. An arm's-length selfie distorts the nose and chin enough to matter.
- Stand at least three feet from a plain wall.
- Crop to a square with the head filling roughly 55–70% of the height.
- Export at 600×600 or larger. If your phone saved HEIC, convert it — many portals will not take it.
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