US visa photo requirements for applicants from China

US visa applications from China use the standard US photo spec with the DS-160 digital limits: a square JPEG between 600 x 600 and 1200 x 1200 pixels, under 240 KB, unedited, on a plain white background, taken within the last 6 months. The Chinese document photo most applicants already own is 33 x 48 mm, a portrait rectangle rather than a square, so it is the wrong shape for the US even though the white background is already correct. The larger trap is retouching: Chinese photo studios routinely smooth skin and reshape features by default, and the US rejects digitally altered photos.

Check your United States visa photo against the official spec → Free check, accepted-or-money-back.

Check your photo right here, free

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

Upload a photo

Click anywhere here, or drag and drop your photo. 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.

Right background, wrong shape

A standard Chinese passport or ID photo is 33 x 48 mm on a white background. The white part is already what the US wants, which is more than most countries manage, but the shape is not: the US needs a 2 x 2 inch (51 x 51 mm) square. Cropping a tall rectangle down to a square usually pushes the head too high or clips the top of the hair, so the reliable route is a fresh photo framed as a square from the start.

Check the head size once you have cropped. From the bottom of the chin to the top of the hair should be 1 to 1 3/8 inches (25 to 35 mm) in the 2 inch frame, which is roughly 50 to 69 percent of the frame height.

Ask the studio for the unretouched file

Retouching is the default at Chinese photo shops, not an upsell you have to accept. Skin smoothing, eye enlargement, and jaw slimming all leave the kind of signature that examiners are trained to spot, and as of 2026 the US rejects digitally altered and AI-generated visa photos. For a visa application a deliberately manipulated photo is treated as misrepresentation, so this is not a risk worth taking to look better in a 2 inch square.

Ask for the original file straight off the camera. If the studio will not hand it over, a phone photo against a plain white wall in even daylight will pass just as well.

Check before you upload, not at the consulate

The same photo covers a B-1/B-2 visitor visa, an F-1 student visa, and any other US nonimmigrant category, because they all run through the DS-160. Our free checker measures your original photo against the official US visa spec and outputs a compliant square file under the 240 KB upload limit. It never edits the image, so there is nothing in the output for an examiner to flag.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use my Chinese passport photo for a US visa?

No. A Chinese document photo is 33 x 48 mm, a portrait rectangle, and the US requires a 2 x 2 inch square. The white background is right, but the shape and head sizing are not, so take a fresh photo framed as a square.

Can the photo studio retouch my US visa photo?

No. Ask for the unretouched original. The US rejects digitally altered and AI-generated photos, and treats a deliberately manipulated visa photo as misrepresentation, which is more serious than a simple retake.

What are the DS-160 file limits?

A square JPEG between 600 x 600 and 1200 x 1200 pixels, 240 KB or smaller. Larger files are refused by the upload form.

Do student and tourist visas need different photos?

No. F-1, B-1/B-2, and other nonimmigrant categories all use the same 2 x 2 inch US visa photo submitted through the DS-160.

Now check your photo against the official spec

Free, in your browser, in under a minute. You pay $9 only if it passes, accepted or your money back.

Check my photo free

Check your photo free →