DV lottery photo guide for applicants from Albania

Albania has one of the highest DV lottery participation rates in the world relative to its population, and entries fail on the same thing everywhere: the photo. The spec is a square JPEG, 600 x 600 pixels, under 240 KB, taken in the last 6 months, plain light background, no glasses, head filling 50 to 69 percent of the frame. The local trap is the European 35 x 45 mm standard: an Albanian ID-style photo is portrait-shaped, which is the wrong format for a DV entry that must be square. Eligibility is re-announced annually, so check Albania's status in the current official instructions.

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Measured against the official United States visa spec: head size, eye line, background, brightness and file limits. We never edit your photo.

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Use a clear, front-facing photo against a plain white wall in even light. We measure and crop it. We never edit the pixels you submit.

The 35 x 45 problem

European document photos are portrait-shaped. Stretching or padding one to a square distorts the face or adds borders, both of which fail. The photo needs to be shot or cropped natively square with the head filling 50 to 69 percent of the frame.

Every family member, before the deadline

Registration is expected in early autumn at dvprogram.state.gov and is free. Spouse and every unmarried child under 21 each need their own compliant photo taken within 6 months of the entry. One noncompliant photo voids the whole entry.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use my Albanian ID photo for the DV lottery?

Not as-is. Albanian document photos are 35 x 45 mm portrait format; the DV entry needs a square 600 x 600 pixel digital file. A fresh square-cropped photo is the clean fix.

Is a phone photo acceptable for the DV entry?

Yes. Plain wall, even daylight, no filters, cropped square to 600 x 600 pixels under 240 KB. It is often safer than a retouched studio shot.