US visa photo requirements for applicants from Colombia

The local ID photo is the wrong shape

Photos taken in Colombia for identity documents are a portrait-format rectangle, not the 2 x 2 inch square the US requires. Reshaping one to a square either distorts the face or leaves white bars at the sides, and both fail. Shoot fresh against a plain white wall, crop to an exact square, and check that the head fills 50 to 69 percent of the frame.

Practical setup: even daylight from a window in front of you, a metre or more between you and the wall so no shadow falls behind your head, camera at eye level, neutral expression with the mouth closed.

Do not let the studio edit it

Studios commonly smooth skin, brighten teeth or replace the background with a flat colour. Edited photos are rejected by US authorities as of 2026, so a photo that looks better can be the one that gets you turned away. Ask for the raw file. If the studio will not provide one, a plain phone photo against a white wall is the safer choice.

Where the photo actually gets checked

You upload the photo into the DS-160 form, and the portal runs an automated check on dimensions, file size and face position before it accepts the file. If the upload fails, the fix is almost always the file itself rather than the connection: wrong shape, over 240 KB, or the head sitting too high or too low in the frame. Verify it before you start the form so a failed upload does not cost you a session.

Bring a printed 2 x 2 inch copy to the interview as a backup, since a printed photo is sometimes requested even when the digital upload succeeded.

Frequently asked questions