Privacy note：Advanced smart enhancements show clear guidance before use. Please make sure you have permission to edit the photo.
Make Your ID Photo
40+ countries · 400+ China formats · Exact pixel output · crop-only mode for strict documents · background tools for eligible formats
⚠️ 2025 Policy Change: USCIS Now Takes Your Photo
Per USCIS Policy Alert PA-2025-29 (December 12, 2025), USCIS no longer accepts self-submitted photographs for secure documents such as the EAD card. Your photo is instead captured by USCIS at your Application Support Center (ASC) biometrics appointment, and reuse of a prior USCIS-held photo is limited to 36 months. The 2×2 inch photo rules below still appear in the current Form I-765 instructions and apply until USCIS updates them — but university ISS offices report that filers are routinely scheduled for biometrics, so follow your appointment notice.
Official Photo Requirements (Form I-765 Instructions)
- Size: 2×2 inches (51×51mm), two identical photos, unmounted, on thin glossy photo paper
- Head height: 1 – 1⅜ inches (25.4–34.9mm) from chin to top of head — 50–69% of the photo height
- Eye height: 1⅛ – 1⅜ inches from the bottom of the photo
- Background: white to off-white
- Recency: taken within 30 days of filing
- Editing: photos must be unretouched; digital photos must come from a camera of at least 3.5 megapixels without alteration
- Glasses: not addressed in the I-765 instructions (no explicit rule)
Paper Filing vs Online Filing
Paper I-765
The instructions call for two identical 2×2 inch prints, unmounted and unretouched — but under PA-2025-29 expect USCIS to photograph you at the ASC biometrics appointment for the secure card.
Online I-765 (myUSCIS)
The upload accepts JPG/JPEG/PNG up to 12MB per file. The same composition rules apply, and the secure-document photo is still taken at biometrics.
Where Our Tool Fits In
Because the I-765 rules require unretouched photos — and USCIS now photographs EAD applicants at the biometrics appointment — use Retouch.im for framing and cropping guidance, and submit an unedited original. For uses that do accept edited photos (resumes, profiles, many online applications), the tool delivers a compliant result in seconds: preview free, HD download $1, 300-DPI print sheet $2.
Common Mistakes
- Mailing self-prepared photos expecting them on the EAD — USCIS now captures photos at the ASC for secure documents
- Photo older than 30 days at filing
- Retouched or filtered photos (explicitly barred by the instructions)
- Head outside the 25.4–34.9mm range, or wrong eye height
- Shadows or a non-white background
Source
Source: USCIS — Form I-765 Instructions (photo spec text identical in the USCIS docket copy at https://downloads.regulations.gov/USCIS-2008-0025-0011/content.pdf) + USCIS Policy Alert PA-2025-29 (Dec 12, 2025) (https://www.uscis.gov/i-765), verified 2026-07-18.
Related keywords