Unacceptable photos are the number one reason the U.S. State Department puts passport applications on hold. When it announced the glasses ban in 2016, the Department said that more than 200,000 passport customers in the previous year had submitted poor-quality or non-compliant photos, delaying their applications. The good news: most problems are easy to avoid. Here are 12 common reasons photos are rejected and how to avoid each.
A printed passport photo must be 2×2 inches (51×51 mm). Phone photos come out in 4:3 or 16:9, so they have to be cropped to a square — without stretching or squeezing the image, which the State Department also rejects.
Fix: crop to exactly 2×2 in, for example with Photo-Visa.Online.
Since November 1, 2016, glasses are not allowed in U.S. passport and visa photos. That includes eyeglasses, sunglasses and tinted glasses — and you can't rest them on your head either. If you can't remove your glasses for medical reasons, include a signed note from your doctor with your application.
Fix: remove glasses before the photo, even if you wear them every day.
Head height (bottom of chin to top of head) must be between 1 and 1⅜ inches (25–35 mm) in the 2×2 in photo — roughly 50–69% of the photo height. Selfies usually make the head too large because the phone is close; photos taken from too far away make it too small.
Fix: have someone take the photo from several feet (about 4 ft) away, then crop so the head falls in the 1–1⅜ in range.
The background must be white or off-white, free of shadows, and plain without texture, objects or lines. Common problems: cream or light blue walls, visible texture, light switches or door frames, a shadow behind the head. Cutting out the background with a retouching tool doesn't solve it: the State Department lists photos with a digitally cropped-out background as unacceptable because it changes the outline of the head.
Fix: stand several feet in front of a plain white or off-white wall, or cover the wall with a white sheet.
Overhead light creates shadows under the chin and in the eye sockets. A light far off to the side creates a half-shadow across the face. Lighting must also not be so bright that the photo is overexposed, or so dim that it's underexposed.
Fix: use even, indirect daylight and face the light source; switch off overhead lights.
The State Department asks for a neutral expression with the mouth closed. A slight smile is fine as long as your eyes are open and your mouth is closed; a wide grin, open mouth or exaggerated expression is not.
Fix: relax your face, close your mouth and look straight at the camera.
Both eyes must be open, with the colored part of the eyes clearly visible and not covered by hair. The only exception is for babies, whose eyes may not be entirely open.
Fix: take several shots and pick the one with both eyes fully open; move hair away from your eyes.
A passport photo must have been taken in the last 6 months. USCIS has its own rules: the I-130 spouse petition requires photos taken within 30 days of filing, and most other USCIS forms that still require photos ask for photos "taken recently".
Fix: take a fresh photo for each application instead of reusing an old print.
Take off any hat or head covering. If you wear one daily for religious purposes, submit a signed statement saying so; for medical purposes, a signed doctor's statement. Even then, your full face must be visible, with no shadows, and the covering should be one color without patterns. Headphones and wireless hands-free devices are not allowed, and neither are uniforms or camouflage clothing.
Fix: remove all headwear and earpieces unless you have a religious or medical reason and the matching signed statement.
You must face the camera directly with your full face in view and your head not tilted. Looking down, tilting the head forward or turning the shoulders all lead to rejection.
Fix: face the camera squarely, with head and shoulders centered in the frame.
The photo must reproduce skin tones accurately. Warm indoor bulbs often give a yellow cast. At the same time, you can't fix it with editing: the State Department checks all photos for digital enhancement or alteration and rejects photos changed with software, phone apps or filters — including using editing tools to remove red eye.
Fix: shoot in daylight or adjust the camera's white balance before taking the photo; turn off beauty modes and filters; avoid flash that causes red eye.
Printed photos must be high resolution — not blurry, grainy or pixelated, with no visible printer dots — and printed on matte or glossy photo-quality paper. Photocopies, scanned photos and damaged photos (holes, creases, smudges) are not accepted.
Fix: use a photo printer with photo paper, or have the photo printed at a photo lab (CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and others).
Total: $13 plus printing. If the agency rejects the photo, we refund you in full. If the shot itself doesn't work out, you can upload a new photo to the same order once, free, within 30 days.
See also: complete 2×2 inch photo specifications and how long passport photos are valid.