DV Lottery Photo Guide — Diversity Visa 2027

Every Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery entry needs a digital photo of each person on it — the principal entrant, the spouse, and every eligible child. The photo rules are published by the U.S. State Department and haven't changed much between program years. The schedule has: in November 2025 the State Department announced changes to the DV entry process and said it would announce the start date of the DV-2027 registration period "as soon as practicable". Always check dvprogram.state.gov and the DV pages on travel.state.gov for the official dates.

DV Photo Specifications at a Glance

If you scan an existing paper photo instead, it must be 2×2 inches (51×51 mm) and scanned at 300 pixels per inch.

The 240 KB File-Size Limit

The DV entry form accepts only JPEG files of 240 KB or less. A photo straight from a modern phone is usually several megabytes, so it has to be cropped to a square, resized to 600×600 px and compressed before upload — while staying sharp enough to show the face clearly.

Photo-Visa.Online's DV Lottery Photo service crops the image to 600×600 px and saves it under 240 KB. The final decision on any photo is made by the State Department.

Required Photos per Entry

According to the official DV instructions, the entry must include a separate photo of:

• The principal entrant
• The spouse — even if you are currently separated (unless legally separated) and even if the spouse doesn't plan to immigrate. A spouse who is already a U.S. citizen or green card holder is not listed.
• Every living, unmarried child under 21, including legally adopted children and stepchildren, whether or not they live with you or plan to immigrate

Each person needs their own photo meeting the same technical specifications. Failing to list an eligible spouse or child can make the principal entrant ineligible. The law allows only one entry per person per registration period; submitting more than one entry disqualifies all of that person's entries.

Photo Problems That Can Make You Ineligible

The DV instructions say you may be ineligible for a DV if the entry photos for you and your family members don't fully meet the specifications or have been manipulated in any way, and that reusing the photo submitted with a prior year's entry will make you ineligible. Common technical problems to check before you submit:

1. File over 240 KB
2. Not square — phone cameras usually shoot in 4:3, so the image must be cropped to 1:1
3. Wrong pixel dimensions — the DV entry requires 600×600 px
4. Background not plain white or off-white
5. Glasses on
6. Head too small or too large — must be 50–69% of image height
7. Photo older than 6 months, or the same photo as last year's entry
8. Objects or patterns in the background
9. Non-neutral expression or closed eyes
10. Filters or retouching — the photo must not be manipulated

How to Take a DV Lottery Photo at Home

1. Stand in front of a plain white or off-white wall with even, indirect daylight and no shadows on your face.
2. Have someone take the photo at eye level from a few feet away: neutral expression, both eyes open, no glasses.
3. Take several shots and pick the sharpest one.
4. Upload to Photo-Visa.Online and select DV Lottery Photo. The service:
   • Crops the image to a 600×600 px square with the head sized to the 50–69% range
   • Saves the JPEG at 240 KB or less
   • Checks head size, eye position and background and warns you about problems before you pay
5. Download the JPEG and upload it yourself at dvprogram.state.gov during the official registration period.

Because the DV instructions treat manipulated photos as a reason for ineligibility, start with a photo that already has a plain white background rather than relying on background editing.

Photos for Family Members

Each family member needs their own photo. For young children, see our baby passport photo guide — the State Department's tips for photographing babies (lay them on a plain white sheet or use a car seat covered with one) apply to visa and DV photos too.

The DV Entry Process

1. Registration period: entries are accepted only online at dvprogram.state.gov during the period announced in the official DV instructions; late and paper entries are not accepted. For DV-2026 the period ran from October 2 to November 7, 2024. For DV-2027, the State Department said in November 2025 that it would announce the dates later.
2. Passport requirement: under a rule effective April 10, 2026, entrants must provide valid, unexpired passport information and upload a scan of the passport's biographic and signature page, unless exempt.
3. No cost to register: the State Department says there is no cost to register for the DV Program and encourages you to fill in the entry yourself rather than through a "visa consultant".
4. Confirmation number: after submitting, you get a unique confirmation number — print the confirmation screen and keep it.
5. Results: checked only through Entrant Status Check on dvprogram.state.gov using your confirmation number; the date is announced in the instructions for each program year.
6. If selected: each DV applicant brings two identical 2×2 inch photos printed on photo-quality paper to the immigrant visa interview.

What Photo-Visa.Online Doesn't Do

We don't submit your DV entry. We only prepare the photo file. Entry is made by you at dvprogram.state.gov.

Bottom Line

DV photos must be square 600×600 px JPEGs of 240 KB or less, in color, on a plain white or off-white background, with the head at 50–69% of image height, taken within the last 6 months and not manipulated. Photo-Visa.Online prepares a file to these specifications for $13 per photo. Check travel.state.gov for the official registration dates before you prepare your entry.

Get started at the DV Lottery Photo page or read about 600×600 pixel photo specifications.