What size is a US visa photo in pixels?

Square, from 600 x 600 up to 1200 x 1200 pixels, JPEG, 240 KB or less. The Diversity Visa Lottery requires exactly 600 x 600.

Will the file be under 240 KB?

In our test a phone photo resized to 600 x 600 came out at 67 KB. Always check the size of your own download; 1200 x 1200 was 289 KB in the same test.

Does this tool check that my photo will be accepted?

No. It only crops and resizes. Head size, background, expression and glasses are your responsibility, and the consulate makes the final decision.

Why is the top of my head cut off?

The 1:1 crop keeps the centre of the photo. Crop the photo to a square yourself, or retake it with your head centred, then resize with the crop set to None.

Is the output JPEG and sRGB colour?

Yes. The resizer always saves a JPEG at quality 90 in sRGB colour, and it applies your phone's rotation first.

Can I change the background to white with your tools?

We do not recommend it for a visa photo. Digitally altered photos can be rejected, so retake the photo in front of a white or off-white wall.

Resize a photo to 600x600 for a US visa

Open Resize & Crop Image

The US visa photo upload (DS-160, and the Diversity Visa Lottery entry) wants a square colour JPEG. The State Department's digital image rules ask for at least 600 x 600 pixels and at most 1200 x 1200, 240 KB or less, 24-bit colour in sRGB, and a compression ratio of 20:1 or less. The DV Lottery asks for exactly 600 x 600. A 600 x 600 file meets both, which is why it is the size to aim for.

Resize & Crop Image can make that file: it crops to a 1:1 square, resizes to the exact pixels you type, and saves a quality-90 sRGB JPEG. It does not check your pose, head size or background, and it cannot tell you whether the consulate will accept the photo. Those rules are covered below.

What we measured

On 2026-10-09 we ran a 2272 x 3408 portrait photo, a typical phone size, through the live tool. With Crop to aspect ratio set to 1:1 and width and height set to 600, the download was exactly 600 x 600 pixels, sRGB, and 67 KB, far under the 240 KB cap. Its compression ratio was about 16:1 (a 600 x 600 colour image is 1,080,000 bytes before compression), inside the 20:1 limit. The same photo at 1200 x 1200 came out at 289 KB, which is over the cap, so stay at 600 x 600 unless you also compress the file.

The crop is taken from the centre

The 1:1 option cuts an equal amount from the top and bottom of a tall photo, keeping the middle. In our test that clipped the top of the hair, because the face sat high in the frame. The tool has no handles to move the crop, so frame the photo so your head is in the middle with space above it, or crop it to a square in your phone's photo editor first, then open the resizer, leave the crop at None and enter 600 x 600. Entering 600 x 600 on a photo that is not square stretches it, so always use one of those two ways to make it square first.

Rules the resizer cannot fix

Head size: the head, from chin to top of hair, should take up 50 to 69 percent of the image height. On a 600-pixel image that is about 300 to 414 pixels.
Background: plain white or off-white, without shadows or patterns.
Face: looking straight at the camera, neutral expression, both eyes open. Glasses are not allowed in visa photos, except in rare medical cases with a doctor's statement.
Recent and unedited: taken within the last six months, and not retouched or filtered. Replacing the background digitally can count as altering the photo, so retake the picture against a white wall instead.

Check the current list on travel.state.gov before you upload. The decision on any photo is made by the embassy or consulate, not by a resizing tool.

If the upload is rejected

Read the message first. A size or format error means the file itself is wrong: confirm it is a .jpg, square, 600 x 600, and under 240 KB in your file properties. A photo quality error is about the picture, such as lighting, shadows, head size or background, and the fix is usually a new photo rather than another resize. The State Department also offers its own free photo crop tool if you want a second check.

Make a 600x600 visa JPEG

Take the photo against a white wall with your head centred in the frame and space above it.
Open Resize & Crop Image, upload the photo, set Crop to aspect ratio to 1:1, and set width and height to 600.
Select Resize & Download and check the result is 600 x 600 pixels and under 240 KB.
Look at the downloaded file: if the top of the head is cut off, crop it square yourself first and resize again with the crop set to None.

Related tools and guides

FAQ

What size is a US visa photo in pixels?: Square, from 600 x 600 up to 1200 x 1200 pixels, JPEG, 240 KB or less. The Diversity Visa Lottery requires exactly 600 x 600.
Will the file be under 240 KB?: In our test a phone photo resized to 600 x 600 came out at 67 KB. Always check the size of your own download; 1200 x 1200 was 289 KB in the same test.
Does this tool check that my photo will be accepted?: No. It only crops and resizes. Head size, background, expression and glasses are your responsibility, and the consulate makes the final decision.
Why is the top of my head cut off?: The 1:1 crop keeps the centre of the photo. Crop the photo to a square yourself, or retake it with your head centred, then resize with the crop set to None.
Is the output JPEG and sRGB colour?: Yes. The resizer always saves a JPEG at quality 90 in sRGB colour, and it applies your phone's rotation first.
Can I change the background to white with your tools?: We do not recommend it for a visa photo. Digitally altered photos can be rejected, so retake the photo in front of a white or off-white wall.