Failure to meet the photography guidelines will disqualify your entry for the Diversity Visa Lottery Program. NepSort brings you a complete list of DV Lottery photo requirements.
Your photo or digital image is a vital part of your visa application. Review the examples below to learn more about DV Lottery photo requirements.
DV Lottery Photo Requirements
Following are the DV Lottery photo requirements for digital photography.
- It Should be in color.
- It Should be in JPEG (.jpg) file format.
- The image must be equal to or less than 240 kB (kilobytes) in file size
- It should be in a square aspect ratio (height must equal width)
- The image should be 600×600 pixels in dimension
- Sized such that the head is between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches (22 mm and 35 mm) or 50% and 69% of the image’s total height from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head.
- Taken within the last six months to reflect your current appearance
- Taken in front of a plain white or off-white background
- Taken in full-face view directly facing the camera
- With a neutral facial expression and both eyes open
- Taken in clothing that you usually wear daily
- Uniforms should not be worn in your photo, except religious clothing that is worn daily.
- Do not wear a hat or head covering that obscures the hair or hairline unless worn daily for a religious purpose. Your full face must be visible, and the head covering must not cast any shadows on your face.
- Headphones, wireless hands-free devices, or similar items are not acceptable in your photo.
- Effective November 1, 2016, eyeglasses are no longer allowed in new visa photos, except in rare circumstances when eyeglasses cannot be removed for medical reasons; e.g., the applicant has recently had ocular surgery, and the eyeglasses are necessary to protect the applicant’s eyes. A medical statement signed by a medical professional/health practitioner must be provided in these cases. If the eyeglasses are accepted for medical reasons:
- The frames of the eyeglasses must not cover the eye(s).
- There must not be a glare on eyeglasses that obscures the eye(s).
- There must not be shadows or refraction from the eyeglasses that obscure the eye(s).
Taking photos of your baby or toddler
When taking a photo of your baby or toddler, no other person should be in the photo, and your child
should be looking at the camera with his or her eyes open.
Tip 1:
Lay your baby on his or her back on a plain white or off-white sheet. This will ensure your
baby’s head is supported and provide a plain background for the photo. Make certain there are
no shadows on your baby’s face, especially if you take a picture from above with the baby lying
down.
Tip 2:
Cover a car seat with a plain white or off-white sheet and take a picture of your child in the car
seat. This will also ensure your baby’s head is supported.
Digital Image Head Size Template
- The top of the head, including the hair, must be between 50% and 69% of the image’s total height to the bottom of the chin. The eye height (measured from the bottom of the image to the level of the eyes) should be between 56% and 69% of the image’s height.
- Image pixel dimensions must be in a square aspect ratio (meaning the height must be equal to the width). Minimum acceptable dimensions are 600 pixels (width) x 600 pixels (height). Maximum acceptable dimensions are 1200 pixels (width) x 1200 pixels (height).
Use the Department of State’s free photo tool
- select a digital image stored on your computer
- resize and rotate it if necessary
- crop it to a square image of exactly 600 x 600 pixels
Updates
Since there is a problem with the official website photo tools app, you can use this link to crop your photo to meet the requirement for the EDV application.
Some Acceptable Photo Examples:
You can see some here for acceptable DV lottery photo examples