Requirements of Passport Photos in the US for First Time Approval

The most important part of planning a first trip to a foreign country is getting a passport for it. If you have appropriate passport photos, your passport does not take much longer to be in your hand. It is very disappointing to know that your passport has been rejected due to inappropriate photos. Here are some of the tips that will guide you to take perfect passport photos at the first try. Passport dimensions can vary from country to country, here are the requirements of US style Passport pictures.

1. Each passport application requires two identical passport photos.
2. Your Passport photos must be printed on photo-quality media.
3. Instead of black & white, opt for color photographs.
4. Photos taken within the last 6 months are acceptable for passports.
5. The passport pictures must be 50mm x 50mm to qualify for a US passport application.
6. Your picture must be square to the camera without anything obscuring the face. Clothing should be simple day to day dress without a head covering or polarized glasses in front of a white screen. As you look at the camera ensure your mouth is closed and your posture is natural with open eyes. The photos must be clear, sharp and not have a grainy image otherwise they will be disallowed.
7. Your head should make up about 50% of the total photo area and should measure between 1 -1 3/8" from chin to crown. It should be in the center of the picture, level and not looking off to the left of right.
8. You can wear a hat or headgear due to religious belief as long as your face is not covered.
9. You may wear everyday spectacles in the passport photo, however, there should be no glare or reflection that obscures your eyes.
10. Wearing a uniform in your passport picture is not allowed unless for religious reasons.
11. It can be difficult to get passport photos of children in which case it is advisable to have them taken professionally. Although, there are websites that create baby passport photos & send them to you. For this, you just need to upload your baby’s clear picture to their website & then they will make it as per US passport regulations.
12. You cannot use your driving license photograph for the passport, digitally manipulating photographs for passport use is not allowed & it can lead to passport rejection.
13. Photographs copied from newspapers and magazines will not comply with the strict regulations. It is also likely that pictures from most vending booths will be rejected. Photos that are a full length body shot of the subject will also be disallowed.
14. It is possible to use your own digital camera at home to take your photos if it is of a high enough quality. You can also use online passport photos websites to reduce all the headaches of passport rejection. These websites require your clear picture with the face in the center, they make it as per US passport regulations & send it to you.

The author is a travel lover & likes to write about the easy travel tips & requirements. With this article, he is sharing information on Passport photos in the US.