DV Lottery Photo Checker Free Diversity Visa Entry Photo Test

Yes, and it happens to a large number of entrants every cycle. The Kentucky Consular Center runs every uploaded photo through an automated check before your entry is even accepted, and entries that fail are thrown out with no warning. You typically won't find out until you check your entry status months later and see a disqualification notice, by which point the entry window has already closed. Running your photo through a checker before you submit removes almost all of that risk.

The photo must be a perfectly square digital image, 600 pixels wide by 600 pixels tall, saved as a JPEG. If you're scanning a printed photo instead of using a digital file, it should measure 2×2 inches (51×51mm) at 300 DPI. Rectangular crops, even ones that are only a pixel or two off from square, are rejected by the upload portal automatically.

Head height is measured from the bottom of the chin straight up to the top of the head, including hair, and it needs to fill between 50% and 69% of the photo's total height — roughly 300 to 414 pixels out of the 600-pixel frame. On top of that, your eyes need to sit between 56% and 69% of the way up from the bottom edge. Photos taken too far back leave the head too small; photos cropped too tight push it over the maximum.

No. Eyeglasses have been completely banned in US visa and passport photography since November 2016, and the Diversity Visa program follows that same rule with no exceptions. This includes prescription glasses, reading glasses, and tinted or photochromic lenses. If your eyes aren't fully visible without any lens between them and the camera, the photo will be flagged.

dvprogram.state.gov caps uploads at 240 KB, and the file has to be a JPEG using 24-bit sRGB color. If your phone or camera saves images much larger than that, you'll need to compress the file without dropping the resolution below 600×600px, since aggressive compression that blurs facial detail can also cause a manual review to reject it.

No. The State Department requires that your photo be taken within the last six months, and reusing an older image — even one that was accepted in a prior DV cycle — goes against that rule. Your appearance can change enough in a year that an outdated photo also risks failing an identity check later in the immigrant visa process, so it's worth taking a fresh one each time you enter.

It needs to be plain white or an off-white so light it reads as white, with even lighting and no visible shadow, texture, pattern, or other people or objects behind you. Colored walls, patterned curtains, and busy indoor backgrounds are common reasons entries fail the automated check, since the software specifically measures the uniformity of the tone behind your head and shoulders.

Only if it's worn daily for religious reasons, and even then your full face from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead needs to remain visible, with no shadow falling across your features from the covering itself. Hats, sunglasses, or headphones worn for any other reason are not permitted and will cause the photo to be rejected.

A neutral expression with your mouth closed is what the program expects, and both eyes should be open and looking directly at the camera. A natural smile without teeth showing is tolerated by some reviewers, but a wide grin, raised eyebrows, or a tilted head can all be read as non-compliant, so the safest choice is a relaxed, straight-on expression.

It's possible, but it's the riskiest option. Front-camera lenses on phones are wide-angle, which distorts the proportions of your nose and face at close range and can throw off the head-height measurement. If you do use a phone, have someone else hold it at eye level a few feet away instead of shooting an arm's-length selfie, then check the result before you upload it.

Yes. Instagram-style filters, warm or cool color grading, heavy skin-smoothing, and auto-enhance features on some phone cameras can all shift the color balance enough to fail the sRGB and lighting checks. Submit the photo as close to the unedited original as possible, taken in natural daylight rather than under colored indoor lighting.

Yes, completely. You can upload and re-check your photo as many times as you need at no cost, with no account required and no watermark placed on your image, right up until you're confident it will pass on the official portal.

No. Every applicant listed on a DV Lottery entry, including a spouse and any unmarried children under 21, needs their own individual photo uploaded separately, even if the whole family is entering together. A group photo, or one where another person is visible in the frame, will be rejected for that applicant.

You'll see which specific rule the photo failed — for example, head height outside the allowed range, eyes outside the 56–69% band, or a non-white background — along with a plain-language explanation of what to change. Retake or re-edit the photo, upload it again, and repeat the check until every item comes back passing before you submit it on dvprogram.state.gov.