DV Lottery Photo

DV Lottery (Green Card) photo guidelines

Do you want to take the correct U.S. Green Card photo? Would you like to know what the most recent requirements are for a DV lottery photo? Are you wondering how to take a DV lottery photo with a smartphone? If you’ve answered “yes” to any of these questions, you definitely need to read this guide. In this guide, you will find tips on how to pose for your photo to get your application approved. You will also learn how to prepare yourself for the photo that you take with your smartphone at home. In addition, you will learn about all of the possibilities that PhotoAiD offers, i.e. the application and the DV lottery online photo tool. If you're ready to read on and find out how to take the perfect photo for your DV lottery application then let’s go.

Green Card photo requirements

The photo is a very important part of the application for a U.S. Green Card. It must meet a number of requirements that have been set by the U.S. Department of State. You can take your DV lottery photo with a professional photographer or by yourself with your phone, as long as you comply with government requirements. You can use PhotoAiD to help you with this, which is a DV lottery photo tool. Below you will find all of the most important tips and requirements for the U.S. Green Card photo. You will learn how to pose for a photo, what to wear and how to look, to make sure your DV lottery photo passes the approval process. And you can meet all of these requirements just by taking a picture at home with an iPhone or any other smartphone.

Green Card photo general requirements:

• Along with the application for the Diversity Visa Program, upload 1 (one) digital photo or a scan of a printed photo that is at least 600x600 pixels up to a maximum of 1200x1200 pixels in size and does not have a file size of more than 240 KB.
• Photos must be in color as black and white photos will not be accepted.
• The picture must be in JPG format.
• Photo resolution: at least 300 dots per inch (dpi); preferably 600 dpi.
• The photo must have a color depth of 24-bits.
• If you are attaching a scan of a photo, the print must be scanned with a resolution of 300 dpi.

Validity of the photo

The DV lottery photo must be valid as to your current appearance, which means it must have been taken within the 6 (six) months before the date that you are applying for the U.S. Green Card. In addition, if you have changed a lot in the last few months, you have lost weight, grown a thick beard, radically changed your hairstyle, you should take a new Green Card photo. This is because the DV lottery photo has to reflect your current appearance. For more situations that require you to take a new one, see the FAQ section.

Resolution and size

The appropriate dimensions of a digital Green Card photo are: a minimum of 600 x 600 pixels and a maximum of 1200 x 1200 pixels. The dimensions must have a square aspect ratio, which means that the height of the image in pixels must be equal to its width. The resolution of a scanned photo should be at least 300 dpi, but preferably 600 dpi. Also, you can only scan a printed photo that has a size of 2 x 2 inches (51mmx51mm).

If you are applying for an immigrant visa using Form DS-260 or you are applying for an immigrant visa as a Diversity Visa Selectee, you must also provide 2 (two) identical printed photos at your immigrant visa interview. The required size of the printed photos is 2 x 2 inches (51mmx51mm).

You can compress the image, if necessary, so that it is less than the maximum file size. Just make sure the compression ratio is less than, or equal to, 20:1.

Photo quality

The photo must be in focus, sharp and of good quality. There must be no visible pixels or blurring. The scanned photo must not have any scratches or fold marks. You must also make sure that there are no visible scanning dots on the image.

Head in the DV lottery photo

Your head in the U.S. Green Card photo must be between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inch from the bottom of the chin to the tip of the hair (between 25 and 35 mm). If you are uploading a digital photo, make sure your head is between 50% and 69% of the total height of the image measured from the top of the head (including hair) to the bottom of the chin.

Digital alterations and retouching

Digital alterations and retouching the photo for your U.S. Green Card is not allowed. You cannot remove the background from the photo or crop the photo yourself. You cannot retouch your appearance in the photo and you must ensure that the photo shows your natural skin tone and natural eye color, so do not edit or retouch this in any way.

Pose and expression

This is a very important requirement for a U.S. DV lottery photo. The photo is biometric, so you should pose in front of the camera, so both your head and body must be facing straight ahead. The photograph must show the entire face and forehead of the subject. To truly capture the biometric features of the face, the image must show the oval of the face, including the jawline and temples.

Your facial expression must be neutral. You can't laugh or show your teeth. However, unlike the photos required in European documents, you can have a slightly natural smile in the photo.

Background

The photographed person should be in front of a neutral, light-colored background. No objects or other people can be visible in the background as the background must be clear of obstructions of any kind. Remember that our mobile application and online DV lottery photo tool also does background removal so you don't have to worry about the background of the photo, as PhotoAiD will remove, and replace, it automatically.

Shadows and lighting

The photo must have high-contrast and should reflect your natural skin tones. The image should be properly exposed, so no photos that are underexposed or overexposed. It is very important that there are no shadows in the background or on your face, neck or shoulders in the photo. You can find information on how to avoid shadows in the U.S. Green Card photo in the part of the guide that talks about taking photos with your phone by yourself.

Hats and hair

You cannot wear hats or head coverings in the DV Lottery photo. However, headwear worn for religious or medical purposes is permitted. In order to be allowed headwear in your photo, that is worn for religious or medical purposes, you must have a signed statement from a religious leader or doctor, and it must not cover your face or cast any shadows.

You can have your hair loose and your ears don't need to be visible. However, remember that your hair must not cover your face, so if you have particularly long hair you will have to brush or tie it back.

Glasses

As of 2016, you cannot have any glasses on in your U.S. Green Card photo and other U.S. biometric photos. This includes prescription glasses, sunglasses, and tinted glasses. The reason being that the frames may obscure the shape of the eyes, and there may be reflections in the lenses that obscure the irises. So remember - no glasses on in the DV lottery photo.

Green Card photo − take with your phone

Although the U.S. Department of State recommends using a professional visa photo service to ensure the photo meets all the requirements, you may take the photo yourself and this is fully acceptable. Below you will learn tips for taking a Green Card photo, so you can take a photo with your phone, completely alone in your own home. Learn how to prepare yourself and what mistakes to avoid.

Prepare a tripod or ask for help

To have the perfect picture for your Green Card, ask someone for help. Selfies are not accepted as they can distort the proportions of your face due to the limited ways you can pose. You can, however, mount the phone on a tripod and even any other surface, thanks to which the frame will be appropriate and the photo will not be blurred, and it will allow you to pose in the appropriate manner.

Set the lighting

The lighting in the photo is the hardest thing to deal with, but we'll help you handle it. Stand in front of a window in full light because daylight that illuminates both sides of your face evenly will be the best. To avoid shadows in the picture, keep your camera at a distance of about 4 feet (1.2 m) from you.

Get dressed

How to dress for a U.S. Green Card photo? Thankfully for you there are no clothing requirements, which will help make your job much easier. You can wear casual clothes, but remember - don't wear a uniform or anything eccentric. Consider wearing a shirt color other than black or white as these colors disturb the contrast between the background and the person being photographed. By wearing white, in particular, you risk the clothing blending in with the background, which may cause the image to be rejected.

Pose according to the Green Card requirements

You already know the requirements for DV lottery photography, so all you have to do is stand in front of the camera, put on a neutral expression and take a shot. Just make sure that the photo is in focus and your head is in the center of the frame.

How does the DV lottery photo tool work?

It is a tool with many functions that allows you to take a Green Card photo with your own phone. How to take a picture? Place your phone on a tripod or ask someone for help. Dress according to Green Card photo requirements. Upload the file to the application or online with a DV lottery photo tool and wait a few minutes. You will receive a ready-to-go photo back, which you can immediately attach to your U.S. Green Card application. The tool is based on Artificial Intelligence, which has a few different functions, which we will discuss in detail below.

Background remover

The mobile application and the online DV lottery photo tool both remove the background from the photo and replace it with one that meets the requirements. Therefore, unlike other programs, you don't have to worry about setting up a white background in your home. Regardless of what background you are photographing, our program will remove, and replace the background from the photo in a professional manner.

Size cropper

You don't have to worry about getting the Green Card photo size right as our online tool will crop your photo and crop your image to the size required for a digital U.S. Green Card photo application.

Photo checker

It's a validator and photo checker in one. The artificial intelligence assesses biometric facial features to ensure they are shown correctly. It checks to see if the face is under or overexposed, that your eyes are open and mouth is closed, and if there are no shadows in the photo. If everything is correct, you will receive a verified photo that you can attach to your application.

Taking photos of your baby or toddler

Taking a photo of your child for the Green Card doesn't have to be difficult if you follow a few tips. As for the requirements for a child’s photo, they are generally the same as for an adult photo. This is the case with children over 6 years of age. Pictures of newborns and infants are treated with greater leniency. For example, a newborn baby does not need to look directly at the camera and may have a naturally parted mouth, but they shouldn't be crying. Also, parents' hands and other objects cannot be seen in the frame. Remember that with PhotoAiD you don't have to worry about the background or size of the photo. Our DV lottery photo tool does it for you.

DV lottery photo - the most common mistakes

The U.S. Department of State always publishes a list of the most common mistakes that are responsible for the rejection of applications for the Diversity Visa Program. See what NOT to DO when preparing a Green Card photo:

• The photo is underexposed or overexposed (poor contrast).
• You submitted a photo from the previous year.
• The red eye effect or the 'flying head' effect (white clothing blends into the background).
• You are wearing glasses in the photo.
• There are shadows in the photo.
• You are wearing clothes that look like a uniform.
• You have closed eyes or an open mouth.
• You have a wide smile, which is not allowed.
• The photo has been edited or retouched using a program such as Photoshop.
• The head in the frame is too close or too far.

Last update: 5/31/23