How to Use the USCIS Photo Tool: Specs, Exceptions, and Submission

The USCIS photo tool most applicants use is actually the Department of State’s free online tool at tsg.phototool.state.gov. It does one job: it crops and resizes your digital image to the 600-by-600-pixel square that matches the 2-by-2-inch passport-style photo USCIS requires. It does not check your lighting, your background, whether your head is tilted, or whether your eyes are open. Get those right yourself, then use the tool to size the file.

USCIS does not run a separate tool of its own. The State Department’s specifications for visa and passport photos are the same specifications USCIS applies to immigration forms, which is why the same tool works for both.

What the Photo Has to Show Before You Open the Tool

The image must be a color photo taken within the last six months, on a plain white or off-white background with no shadows, patterns, or other people in the frame. You face the camera directly, with a neutral expression and both eyes open. Your head, measured from the bottom of the chin to the top of the hair, has to fill between 50% and 69% of the image height, which is roughly 1 inch to 1⅜ inches on a 2-inch print.¹

A few rules cause more rejections than the specifications themselves:

Eyeglasses are not allowed. The only exception is when glasses cannot be removed for medical reasons and you provide a signed statement from a medical professional.¹
Hats and head coverings are prohibited unless worn daily for religious purposes, and even then your full face must be visible with no shadow from the covering.¹
Uniforms are not allowed, and neither is anything that looks like one, including camouflage.²
Jewelry and piercings are fine as long as they don’t obscure the face.²

For infants and toddlers, it is acceptable if the eyes aren’t fully open. All older children have to meet the same rules as adults.²

Using the Tool Step by Step

Start with a digital photo that already meets the content rules above. The file needs to be at least 600 by 600 pixels, and the tool will not accept anything larger than 1,200 by 1,200 pixels.³

Go to tsg.phototool.state.gov and click “Choose a Photo to Begin.” Upload the file from your computer. The tool overlays cropping guides on your image. Drag them so your chin sits near the bottom guide and the top of your hair sits near the upper guide, with your face centered. When the framing looks right, the tool produces a cropped 600-by-600-pixel JPEG for you to save.

The State Department is clear that the tool is meant for cropping when you are applying in person or by mail, and you should not use it for online U.S. passport renewals, which have their own separate upload process.⁴

Digital File Specifications

For any submission that accepts a digital image directly, the file has to be a JPEG in 24-bit color, sRGB color space, and no larger than 240 kilobytes.³ Phones and cameras generally shoot in sRGB already. If your cropped file comes out larger than 240 kB, reduce the JPEG quality slightly in any image editor and resave.

Printing Physical Copies

For paper filings you need two identical prints on photo-quality glossy paper at exactly 2 by 2 inches, unmounted and unretouched.⁵ Drugstore kiosks and online print services will print passport photos from your cropped file. If you print at home, measure the output before cutting.

Quality Problems the Tool Won’t Catch

Most photo rejections have nothing to do with dimensions. They come from problems the cropping tool cannot see:

Shadows on the face or on the background behind the head. Soft, even lighting from the front, with the subject a few feet in front of the wall, fixes this. Overhead lights that cast shadows under the eyes and nose are the usual culprit.
Blur or low resolution. An image that looks fine on a phone screen can fall apart at 2 by 2 inches. Steady the camera and use good light.
Overexposure that washes the face into the background, or red-eye from a direct flash. Bounce the flash or use window light.
Expression or gaze problems. Look straight into the lens with a neutral expression. A smile with teeth or eyes drifting off-center can trigger a rejection.

If USCIS rejects your photo, retake it. Digital alterations beyond basic cropping and brightness adjustment are not allowed.

Religious and Medical Exceptions

If you wear a head covering daily for religious reasons, you can keep it on, but you have to include a signed personal statement confirming that the covering is traditional religious attire you customarily wear in public and that you wish to wear it in your immigration photograph. Sign and date it with your full name.⁶ Your entire face from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead still has to be visible, with no shadow cast by the covering.¹

Glasses are a narrower exception. You need a signed statement from a medical professional explaining why they cannot be removed, such as protection after recent eye surgery.¹ Vision dependence on its own does not qualify. If you just need them to see, take them off for the photo.

Attaching Photos to Your Application

For paper filings, include two identical printed photos. On the back of each, use a pencil or felt-tip pen to lightly write your full name and, if you have one, your A-Number.⁷ Press gently so you don’t emboss the front. Paper-clip them to the package or slip them in a small envelope. Do not staple, glue, or tape.

For online filings, USCIS asks you to scan your printed passport-style photo or take a picture of it with a phone, then upload the file. It has to be a JPEG or PDF no larger than 12 megabytes.⁸ The 600-by-600-pixel file from the DOS tool sits well under that limit.

How USCIS Uses Your Submitted Photo Now

Under a policy that took effect December 12, 2025, USCIS no longer uses self-submitted photographs on secure identity documents like Green Cards and Employment Authorization Documents. The photo that appears on the card comes from your biometric services appointment at an Application Support Center.⁹

You still submit passport-style photos with your application; the requirement did not go away. USCIS may reuse a biometric appointment photograph for up to 36 months, and it can also require a fresh photo at any point within that window.⁹ Submit compliant photos with the filing, and expect to sit for a new one in person.

1
U.S. Department of State. Photo Requirements
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U.S. Department of State. U.S. Passport Photos
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U.S. Department of State. Digital Image Requirements
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U.S. Department of State. Choose a Photo to Begin – Photo Tool
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-765 Instructions for Application for Employment Authorization
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U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia. Head Covering Statement
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form N-400 Instructions for Application for Naturalization
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Tips for Filing Forms Online – Section: Step 6 Upload Evidence
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy on Photograph Reuse for Identity Documents – Policy Alert