DV Lottery Photo Requirements: 600x600 px, 240 KB

From the Photo Requirements page on travel.state.gov, section Diversity Visa Program (read on 14 October 2026). Check the page and the instructions for your DV year before you enter.

• Format: JPEG (.jpg).
• File size: equal to or less than 240 KB.
• Shape: square, the height must equal the width.
• Dimensions: 600 x 600 pixels.
• If you scan an existing print, the print must be 2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm), scanned at 300 pixels per inch.

The same page sets the rules every U.S. visa photo follows:

• In colour, taken within the last 6 months.
• Head between 50 and 69 percent of the image height, measured from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head.
• Plain white or off-white background, full face directly facing the camera, neutral expression, both eyes open.
• No eyeglasses, except in rare documented medical cases.
• No hat or head covering that hides the hair or hairline unless worn daily for religious reasons; no headphones or similar devices; no uniforms except daily religious clothing.

1. 1

   Take a new photo

   Stand in front of a plain white wall in even daylight and have someone take the photo from about 1.5 metres away, with your shoulders in the frame. Take off your glasses. If the phone saves HEIC files, convert the photo with HEIC to JPG.

2. 2

   Crop it square

   Open Crop Image, choose the 1:1 preset and position the box so your head fills about half to two thirds of its height, with a little space above your hair.

3. 3

   Resize to exactly 600 x 600

   In Resize Image set the width and height to 600 pixels. Because the crop is already square, the picture is not stretched.

4. 4

   Check it is under 240 KB

   A 600 x 600 JPEG is usually 60 to 150 KB. If yours is larger, open Compress Image set to 240 KB, which keeps the best quality that fits.

• Glasses, even clear prescription glasses.
• A rectangle instead of a square, or any size other than 600 x 600 pixels.
• A photo older than 6 months, or one that does not reflect how you look now.
• Shadows on the face or background, a tinted background, or a heavily edited image.
• Other people or objects in the frame.

The DS-160 nonimmigrant visa form accepts a range of sizes, from 600 x 600 up to 1200 x 1200 pixels, and some guides apply that range to the DV Lottery too. The DV section of the official page names 600 x 600 pixels, so that is the size to use. Our US visa photo guide covers the DS-160 rules.