When you apply for a non-immigrant visa to visit friends and family in the United States, you need to submit a photograph to support your application. Along with visitor insurance, the visa application is a vital pre-trip step to take. Visitor insurance helps protect you while you are in the United States, while your visa allows you to enter the country.

If you are applying for a non-immigrant visa with the DS-160 or DS-1648 form, you need to upload a digital image to complete your visa application. You can have your photo professionally taken or you can take it yourself.

There are a number of specifications for digital images which can be found on the US State Department website. Your photo must be in a square format, and meet the minimum and maximum dimensions of 600 x 600 and 1200 x 1200 pixels. It must be in color and less than 240kb in size.

The Department of State has a free photo tool to help you resize and rotate an existing image, crop it to the right size and save it to your computer. Your photo must not be digitally enhanced in any way and must be an accurate representation of your current appearance.