Your entry will be disqualified if all required photographs are not submitted. Recent photographs of the following people must be submitted electronically with the Electronic Diversity Visa Entry Form:
* you
* your spouse
* Each unmarried child under 21 years of age, including all natural children as well as all legally-adopted children and stepchildren, even if a child no longer resides with you or you do not intend for a child to immigrate under the DV program
You do not need to submit a photo for a child who is already a U.S. citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident.
Group or family photographs will not be accepted; there must be a separate photograph for each family member. Failure to submit the required photographs for your spouse and each child will result in an incomplete entry to the E-DV system. The entry will not be accepted and must be resubmitted. Failure to enter the correct photograph of each individual in the case into the E-DV system will result in disqualification of the principal applicant and refusal of all visas in the case at the time of the visa interview.
A digital photograph (image) of you, your spouse, and each child must be submitted on-line with the E-DV Entry Form. The image file can be produced either by taking a new digital photograph or by scanning a photographic print with a digital scanner
Entries are subject to disqualification and visa refusal for cases in which the photographs are not recent or have been manipulated or fail to meet the specifications explained below.
Instructions for Submitting a Digital Photograph (Image)
The image file must adhere to the following compositional specifications and technical specifications and can be produced in one of the following ways:
Taking a new digital image.
Using a digital scanner to scan a submitted photograph.
Compositional Specifications: The submitted digital image must conform to the following compositional specifications or the entry will be disqualified.
• Head Position Person being photographed must directly face the camera.
Head of the person should not be tilted up, down, or to the side.
Head of the person should cover about 50% of the area of the photograph.
• Background
Person being photographed should be in front of a neutral, light-colored background.
Dark or patterned backgrounds are not acceptable.
• Focus Photograph must be in focus.
• Decorative Items Photographs in which the person being photographed is wearing sunglasses or other items that detract from the face will not be accepted.
• Head Coverings and Hats Photographs of individuals wearing head coverings or hats are only acceptable if related to his/her religious beliefs, and even then, may not obscure any portion of the face of the applicant. Photographs of individuals with tribal or other headgear not specifically religious in nature will not be accepted.
Photographs of military, airline, or other personnel wearing hats will not be accepted.
• Photograph Composition Colored photographs in 24-bit color depth are preferred to black and white or gray scale pictures in 24-bit color depth. Photographs may be down loaded from a camera into a file in the computer or they may be scanned into a file in the computer.
If you are using a scanner, the settings must be for True Color or 24-bit color mode. Colored photographs or black and white (or gray scale) must be scanned at this setting for the requirements of the DV program. For black and white or grey scale photographs scanned in 24-bit color mode, only three colors or image bands are used, and the results will still be black, white and gray. See additional scanning requirements below.
Technical Specifications: The submitted digital photograph must conform to the following specifications or the system will automatically reject the E-DV Entry Form and notify the sender.
• Taking a
New Digital Image. If a new digital image is taken, it must meet the following specifications:
Image File Format: The image must be in the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format.
Image File Size: The maximum image file size will be sixty-two thousand five hundred (62,500) bytes.
Image Resolution: 320 pixels high by 240 pixels wide.
Image Color Depth: 24-bit color [Note: Colored photographs are preferred, but black and white or grayscale photographs, if used, must be scanned in 24-bit 4 color mode. Monochrome images (2-bit color depth), 8-bit color or 8-bit grayscale will not be accepted]
• Scanning a Submitted Photograph. Before a photographic print is scanned, it must meet the following specifications:
Print Size: 2 inches by 2 inches (50mm x 50mm) square.
Print Color: A color image is preferable for the DV program. However a black and white or grayscale image may be used only with the 24-bit setting mode.
The photographic print must also meet the Compositional Specifications. If the photographic print meets the Print Size, Print Color, and Compositional Specifications, scan the print using the following scanner specifications.
Scanner Resolution: Scanned at a resolution of 150 dots per inch (dpi).
Image File Format: The image must be in the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format.
Image File Size: The maximum image file size will be sixty-two thousand five hundred (62,500) bytes.
Image Resolution: 300 by 300 pixels.
Image Color Depth: 24-bit color) [Note: Black and white or grayscale images must be used with 24-bit color depth. Monochrome images (2-bit color depth), 8-bit color or 8-bit grayscale will not be accepted]
Source of Info: US Department of State - Bureau of Consular AffairsLabels: Green Card Lottery, Immigration Lottery