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US visa or DV lottery photo over 240 KB? Shrink it

The US State Department's Digital Image Requirements page for visas says the photo must be a square JPEG, between 600 and 1200 pixels on each side, in sRGB colour, and 240 kB or less. Source: travel.state.gov, Digital Image Requirements.

  • Nothing is uploaded. Your browser does the compression, so the file stays on your device.
  • Lands under the real limit. We aim a little below it, so the upload goes through first time.
  • Fast. A 30 second 1080p clip fits into 10 MB in about two seconds on a desktop.
Where are you sending it?

Custom size 240 KB. We aim for 233 KB, a small safety margin so the file never lands just over.

Sent to our servers: 0 bytes. It all happens in this tab.

When you need 240 KB

This tool only changes the file size. It does not crop to a square or check your face position and background: do that first, then shrink. Other applications, such as online passport renewal, can have different limits, so check the form you use.

What to expect

A 600 to 1000 pixel square photo usually fits in 240 KB at good quality.

How big a picture fits in 240 KB

Rough pixel sizes at good quality. The tool checks the real result, so treat these as a guide.

What it isAbout this many pixels
Detailed photo (landscape, crowd)880 x 590
Typical photo or headshot1,080 x 720
Scan, signature or screenshot of text1,870 x 1,250

How we hit the number

We try the highest quality that fits. If the picture still will not fit even at a lower quality, we reduce the pixel size a step at a time until it does. Photos are saved as JPEG by default, which every form accepts. You can switch to WebP or PNG with the format menu.

The target we aim for is 233 KB, which is 7 KB under 240 KB, so the file is not turned away over a few bytes.

Questions people ask

Does this make my photo pass the full rules?

No. It only handles the size. Framing, lighting and background are separate rules on the same State Department page.

Which format do I choose?

JPEG. Use the format menu to be sure.

Related

Limits change. We link the official page wherever there is one, and the safety margin means a small change is unlikely to matter. Last updated 2026-11-09.