VISA PHOTO PREPARATION

U.S. visa photo head size: check the crop in pixels

Prepared by Visa Photo Prep. Independent preparation guidance.

For a digital U.S. visa photo, measure from the top of the head, including hair, to the bottom of the chin. That distance must be 50% to 69% of the image height. Check eye position separately: it is measured from the bottom of the image.

A square file can still have the wrong crop

Resizing a square image to 600 × 600 pixels changes its dimensions. It does not change the proportion occupied by your head. A small face stays small unless you change the crop; a head cut off at the top stays cut off.

Open the saved image in an editor that displays pixel coordinates. Use the final image, not the original camera file. The official composition template includes hair in the head measurement. A marker placed on an imagined skull boundary gives a different result.

Two measurements, two tests

Head height

(Chin position minus top-of-hair position) ÷ image height × 100.

Eye height from the bottom

(Image height minus eye-line position from the top) ÷ image height × 100.

The following ranges are calculated from the official digital percentages. They are arithmetic aids, not a separate government specification.

• 600 pixels high: head height 300 to 414 pixels; eye line 336 to 414 pixels above the bottom, equivalent to 186 to 264 pixels below the top.
• 1200 pixels high: head height 600 to 828 pixels; eye line 672 to 828 pixels above the bottom, equivalent to 372 to 528 pixels below the top.

A worked example

In a hypothetical 600-pixel image, the top of the hair is at y = 90, the chin at y = 450 and the eye line at y = 220. Head height is 360 ÷ 600 = 60%. Eye height from the bottom is 380 ÷ 600, about 63.3%. Both fall inside the published ranges. These invented coordinates demonstrate the calculation; they are not a tested or accepted application photo.

What to change when a test fails

1. If the head is too small, tighten the square crop around the same original.
2. If the head is too large, widen the crop only when the original contains enough space around it.
3. If head height passes but eye position fails, adjust the vertical placement and repeat both measurements.
4. If the original cuts off hair or chin, retake it. Do not generate missing parts.

Keep the head centered and facing the camera. Pixel measurements do not establish acceptable lighting, expression or image quality. A crop tool also cannot certify embassy acceptance.

For a paper photo, use the separate print template: a 2 × 2 inch print with head height 1 to 1⅜ inches (25 to 35 mm). Do not apply digital percentages to a print while ignoring its physical size.

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