US Refugee Travel Document Photos (Form I-131): Two 2x2 Inch Prints, Head Height and What USCIS Says

A refugee who needs to travel abroad applies for a Refugee Travel Document on Form I-131, and the form’s instructions give very specific rules for the photographs. This guide reads the instructions’ Part 8.A, in the edition dated 01/20/25.

What the Instructions require

For a Refugee Travel Document requested from outside the United States, the Instructions say: “You must submit two identical color passport-style photographs of yourself taken recently.” The same clause sets out the print rules:

• White to off-white background.
• Printed on thin paper with a glossy finish and unmounted.
• 2 by 2 inches (51 × 51 mm), full face, frontal view.
• Head height 1 to 1 3/8 inches from the top of your hair to the bottom of your chin.
• Eye height between 1 1/8 and 1 3/8 inches from the top of your eyes to the bottom of the photo.
• Bare head unless the headwear is required by the applicant’s religious denomination.
• A digital photo must be produced from a camera of at least 3.5 megapixels.
• Your name and A-Number (if any) printed lightly on the back.

The same rules for other I-131 requests

Part 8.A ties the two-photo requirement to a Refugee Travel Document filed from outside the United States, and also to Advance Parole and TPS travel authorization filed inside it. Part 9 sends Refugee Travel Document applicants aged 14 to 79 to a USCIS biometrics appointment.

What is not specified

The Instructions publish no pixel, file-size or format limits and no glasses rule. They ask for prints, so judge the result by the printed 2x2 inch picture.

Common mistakes

1. One print instead of two.
2. A head that is too small in the frame, outside 1 to 1 3/8 inches.
3. A matte or mounted photo.
4. No name or A-Number on the back.

Our refugee travel document photo tool sets up a correct 2x2 inch frame for printing.