The Green Card Lottery (Diversity Visa, or DV, program) is run by the US Department of State, not USCIS, and its photo rules are entirely separate from the USCIS biometrics changes that affect Green Card, work permit and naturalization filings. Two things changed recently: since 16 October 2025 every entry carries a $1 electronic registration fee, and the DV-2027 registration period did not open on the usual autumn schedule — the Department of State is revising the entry process and will announce the start date. Check the official instructions page before preparing anything. A DV entry photo is then checked twice: once by an automated system at submission, and again later by a Department of State employee — and the second check is the one that catches most rejected photos.
Fast diagnosis
Submitting the same photograph you used in a prior year's entry is itself grounds for disqualification, and it is the mistake repeat entrants make most. Next comes the file: a square 24-bit JPEG between 600 × 600 and 1200 × 1200 pixels, 240 KB or less, compressed no harder than 20:1. Then glasses, which are not permitted at all. The file check happens at upload; the composition is judged separately, and you are never told that the photo was the reason.
The Department of State requires a square JPEG in 24-bit colour, at least 600 × 600 pixels and no larger than 1200 × 1200 pixels, with a file size of 240 KB or less. If the file is compressed, the compression ratio must not exceed 20:1 — squeezing a large photo hard to reach the 240 KB cap is a common way to fail. A black-and-white or greyscale scan is rejected outright.
The Department of State disqualifies an entry that submits the same photograph used in a prior year. Even if the old photo still meets every specification and still looks like you, it has to be a new one for each entry period — this is one of the most common mistakes among people who enter repeatedly.
The upload system mainly checks file format and dimensions, not composition. A wrong background colour, incorrect head size or visible editing can upload successfully and still disqualify the entry. Acceptance of a photo is decided by a Department of State employee, not by the upload check, and the Department notifies entrants only through Entrant Status Check — there is no message telling you the photo was the problem.
The same rule as a US passport photo applies. A colour background, patterned wall or visible shadow behind the head is a common cause of the silent, later-stage disqualification described above.
Eyeglasses are not permitted in a DV entry photo at all. The only exception is a rare medical circumstance such as recent eye surgery, and that requires a signed medical statement. Do not rely on a glare-free pair — take the photo without eyewear. Hearing devices and similar articles may be worn.
If you scan an existing photo instead of taking a new digital one, the source print must be exactly 2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm) and scanned at 300 pixels per inch — a photo scanned at a lower resolution or cropped from a different size fails the digital-quality check.
US law allows only one entry per person per registration period. The Department of State's systems are built to detect duplicates, and a second entry disqualifies every entry you submitted that year — including the first, correct one. The reverse matters just as much: if you never received a confirmation number, your entry was not recorded and you should submit it again. Attempts the system rejected before a confirmation number was issued do not count as duplicates.
The Department of State requires a square JPEG in 24-bit colour, at least 600 × 600 pixels and no larger than 1200 × 1200 pixels, with a file size of 240 KB or less. If the file is compressed, the compression ratio must not exceed 20:1. Keeping the pixel size closer to the lower end makes it much easier to stay under the 240 KB cap without compressing hard enough to fail that ratio.
No. The upload step mainly checks file format, aspect ratio and size. Composition problems such as the wrong background colour or an incorrect head size are judged separately by a Department of State employee, and the Department communicates results only through Entrant Status Check. There is no message telling you the photo was the reason, so check your entry against the composition rules before you submit rather than after.
No. The Green Card Lottery is run by the Department of State, a different agency from USCIS. The December 2025 change that moved Green Card, work permit and naturalization photos to USCIS biometrics appointments does not apply to DV entries — you still upload your own digital photo at dvprogram.state.gov.
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