U.S. Visa Photo Maker

Regarding the U.S. Visa Photo

A visa is an official that enables people to go cross a foreign border or stay in a foreign country. If you are a frequent international traveler, you must be familiar with the specific requirements for a visa. The details can vary measurably depending on the destinations. A U.S visa is a must for you to go sightseeing in the United States. Apart from filling out mountains of paperwork, obtaining a proper U.S. visa photo is also one of your tasks while applying for a U.S. visa, especially if you are applying for a U.S. visa in Ireland, for the photo size provided by the Irish photo booths might not be in the correct size.

However, getting a proper visa photo can be a frustrating experience for various reasons including failure to meet requirements, the cost of visa photos, and so on. To help you remove the difficulties of getting the correct visa photo, we are here to give you a holistic guide!

Basic Requirements and Dimensions

Getting a biometric picture is important for your application for a document, which might wield a great effect on your further trip to the U.S. At the same time, a visa photo might be accompanying you for several years. Therefore, the significance of a proper visa photo can’t be overstated. Here, we have listed some basic information about a U.S. visa photo:

• The required size for the U.S. visa photo should be 2×2 in (Be equal to 51 mm×51 mm)
• You are supposed to get the photo taken against the plain white or off-white background within the last 6 months.
• Your full face should be displayed in the photo. In addition, your collarbone and upper part of the shoulder should be fully visible.
• Both of your eyes should be open, and your mouth should be closed. 
• Remember your head should be placed in the central spot of the photo and fill 50-69% of the whole photo.
• Your eyes should be positioned approximately 28-35 mm from the bottom edge.

It might seem easy for you to get a satisfying biometric visa photo. However, the truth is that the requirements of a U.S. visa photo might contain a lot of details that might hinder your application. Let’s have a closer glance into the details in the following parts. We will also provide some additional visa photo advice aimed at making your application proceeded more smoothly. 

Background Color for a U.S. Visa Photo

First of all, you should know the background color for your U.S. visa photo, for the background color might affect greatly your option of clothes. (You should avoid choosing the color that can blend into the background easily).

The only allowed background for a U.S. visa photo is a plain white or off-white background without any shadows and blemishes. Be uneasy about finding the correct background? The automatic background removal tool can let you replace the wrong one with an accepted one.

Apart from the background color, you should make sure that the lighting in your photo should be even. Therefore, it is highly suggested that you should find natural light against a plain white or off-white background.

Glasses for a Visa Photo in the U.S.

You should keep updating the latest information about a visa photo. There is plenty of inaccurate information floating around the Internet, so make sure you can grasp the reputable information. (You’d better check embassies and government websites or call the embassy for the latest guideline).

Whether you can wear glasses for a visa photo in the U.S. can be a typical case here. According to the lastly-released rules, eyeglasses are no longer permitted in new visa photos, with the exception of rare situations where eyeglasses should be kept on for medical reasons. For example, the applicants have recently had ocular surgery and the eyeglasses are necessary to protect their eyes. In this case, a medical statement should be submitted as proof. At the same time, if you are allowed to wear eyeglasses for medical reasons, you should also comply with the below rules:

• The frames can’t cover your eyes.
• No glares should be on the eyeglasses which might obscure your eyes.
• There must be no shadows or refraction caused by the eyeglasses.
• Needless to say, sunglasses and tinted transition glasses aren’t allowed.

Just keep the above rules in mind if you are necessarily keeping your glasses on while taking a U.S. Visa photo.

Other Accessories for the U.S. Visa Photo

This can be another controversial topic while taking a visa photo, for some countries might allow you to wear accessories like earrings in a visa photo if they won’t cause reflection or shadows. There is a clear statement for a U.S. Visa photo:

• For hats or head covering: You are prevented from wearing a hat or head covering for they might cover your hairline or facial features, except for a religious purpose. Even if you are allowed to keep your hair covered for religious belief, your full face and vital facial features should be utterly visible in the photo. In addition, the head covering can’t cast any shadows on your face.
• Headphones, wireless hands-free devices, or other similar items are rejected.
• If you wear a hearing device or similar item normally, you can keep them on in your photo.

To sum up, to save your time and money for reapplication for a document, just keep away from all accessories that might cause rejection.

Dress Code for the Visa Photo in the U.S.

You can choose to take a U.S. photo at a professional photo booth store or by yourself at home (Note: We will introduce this money-saving way in the following part). Whatever the case is, you should put a little thought into what you are going to wear for your visa photo. The U.S. visa requirements specify a white or off-white background color. Therefore, you should choose a solid-colored shirt that will stand out. Just take in clothing that you normally wear on a daily basis. Uniforms shouldn’t be worn except for religious reasons.

Facial Expression in the Visa Photo

Your eyes should be looking directly toward the camera without your head being tilted or turned. You must keep your eyes open and visible, and your mouth should be closed. Therefore, just try not to grin at the camera. The best option is to keep a natural facial expression without any exaggerated expression.

Make-up in a U.S. Visa Photo

Make-up is fine but please don’t wear too much. Take a specific example, you should cover any of your blemished, or scars on your face, which might result in failure to verify your identity! 

Places to Get the U.S. Visa Photo in Ireland

The past decades have witnessed the enviable development in AI technology. Therefore, advanced technology has opened up both offline and online resorts for you. Here is a list of ubiquitous services to take a biometric passport photo in Ireland:

• A Walsh’s Pharmacy is a nice place to get your visa photos taken.
• A photo booth service. It is a traditional way and a professional photographer will take care of every detail of your photos. However, you get your photo in a pricey way.

Do you want to try out the online service? Here AiPassportPhotos will help you make your biometric photos at home within 3 seconds!

Just prepare a tripod and take a perfect photo via your cell phone or camera with high resolution, for any blurred photo will be rejected. You can also need to enlist the help of a friend or family member who can check your photos with you according to the rules listed above.

Choose the most perfect photo and let the AiPassportPhotos convert it into a 100% compliant visa photo for the U.S. Check how AiPassportPhotos helps you in the next part!

Some Common Mistakes While Taking a U.S. Visa Photo

There are some errors you should avoid while taking a U.S. visa photo:

• Selfies or photos that are altered by a computer program.
• Wear a hat or have the hair fringe cover your eyebrow.
• Wear items that obscure your face.
• Photos are printed in black and white.
• The photo is too old to recognize your current appearance.
• Wear light-color attire that might blend you into the background.
• Get photos printed in Irish or European visa size.

When you take photos by yourself, you should pay attention to the above rules. Otherwise, your visa application might get refusal!

How to Get a Proper U.S. Visa Photo at Home?

AiPassportPhotos can provide you with a printable template online within a few clicks at home. See how we can help you:

• Crop the proper size for your uploaded picture under the aegis of AI-Tech. (You will find it useful when you discover that the required size of a U.S. visa photo might be excluded by photo booth services in Ireland.)
• Check the background, and remove the incorrect one automatically. Also, the tool will change the right one for you smartly.
• Ensure a verified passport photo. The final result will be surely satisfying and comply with the specific requirements for the U.S. visa.
• Get the digital version and printout template via email. Only with lower than €6 can you get the most perfect U.S. visa photo. It can be a great option, for you need to pay €8 in a professional photo store.

After gaining the digital version, you can choose to print the photos for your offline submission.

• You can get your color printer ready, and then just print your photos via the printer.
• Head to Boots Pharmacies which offer one of the most popular printing services in the country.