DV lottery photo: 600 × 600 pixels and under 240 kB

Open the 600 × 600 photo maker, which starts on the Diversity Visa preset, choose your photo, keep the head between 50% and 69% of the height, and press Download photo: the JPEG is saved at exactly 600 × 600 pixels and kept at 240 kB or less. These rules are from the program's DV-2024 instructions in the Federal Register; each year's instructions are published again, so read the current ones before you enter.

The rules

Steps

1. Take a recent photo facing the camera, against a plain white or off-white wall.
2. Open the 600 × 600 photo maker and choose it.
3. Read the head check: it shows your head's share of the height. Change Head size until it is between 50% and 69%.
4. Leave Up to at 240 KB under File size.
5. Press Download photo and upload the file to the entry form yourself.

Why the file stays under 240 kB

The tool encodes the photo, measures the saved file, and lowers the JPEG quality only as far as needed to get under the limit. It counts a kilobyte as 1000 bytes for a maximum, so the file passes whichever way the form counts. A 600 × 600 portrait on a plain background is usually far below 240 kB already.

Other US photos

The US passport, visa and green card use a printed 2 × 2 inch photo; see the 2 × 2 inch guide. The online visa form's photo page could not be opened when we checked, so that preset states no limits.

Questions

Can I take the photo with my phone?

Yes, if it is sharp and taken from a metre or more away by someone else, not at arm's length.

Does a correct photo guarantee my entry is valid?

No. The tool meets the size, file and head rules as published. Everything else about the entry, and the photo itself, is checked by the program.