Your US visa photo, taken at home
Have someone take your photo, and we'll check it against the DS-160 rules and crop it to the exact size. You only pay once it passes. Your photo never leaves this device.
Have someone else take it. It stays on this device.
Starting the camera…
Live advice for the person holding the phone. Nothing is recorded or sent.
Our lines are estimates. Drag them onto the chin and the top of the head if they are off; the crop follows.
Your face
The visa photo
One price, no subscription. You pay only because it passed.
Payments aren't open yet
We're testing the site, so your photo is free. Nobody is charged. Thanks for helping us find out if this is useful.
Download my visa photoFix the points above and take the photo again. You never pay for a photo that fails.
Before you take it
- Someone else takes it. The rules say no selfies. Your helper stands about 1.5 m away, phone at your eye level.
- Plain white or off-white wall, no shadows behind you. Face a window for soft, even light.
- No glasses. Neutral face, mouth closed, both eyes open, looking straight at the camera.
- Keep your head and shoulders in the photo, with space above your head. We crop it for you.
What we check and do
- One face, head straight and facing the camera, eyes open, neutral expression, plain light background.
- Head size: chin to top of head between 50% and 69% of the photo's height.
- We crop to a square and resize to 600 × 600 pixels, JPEG under 240 KB: what the DS-160 upload asks for.
- We never edit your face or background. The rules forbid it, and edited photos get refused.
What we can't check
- Glasses, glare, small shadows (we only catch a strong shadow on one side), hair covering the eyes: look at the photo yourself.
- Whether the photo is less than 6 months old, and whether it looks like you today.
Our measurements are estimates. The US Department of State alone decides whether a photo is accepted: we help you catch problems, we don't guarantee acceptance.
Is a photo taken at home allowed?
Yes, for the visa application, if someone else takes it and it meets the rules. The State Department's photo page says: "Have someone else take your photo. No selfies." Cropping and resizing are fine; its own free photo tool does the same. What's not allowed is editing: filters, retouching, or replacing the background.
We are not affiliated with the US government. "DS-160" is the name of the official visa application form.
Sources
- Photo requirements (travel.state.gov, checked 2026-10-01)
- Official photo tool (state.gov, checked 2026-09-30)