USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) handles Green Cards, work permits and citizenship. Some of its forms still ask you to mail two passport-style photos. For others, USCIS takes your photo itself at a biometrics appointment. A policy alert in December 2025 changed which photos USCIS puts on the cards it issues. This guide explains which forms need photos, the size rules, and what changed, from USCIS's own pages, checked in October 2026.

The short answer

FormWhat it is forPrinted photos to send
I-485Green Card from inside the US (adjustment of status)2. USCIS also takes a new photo of you at your biometrics appointment
I-765Work permit (EAD)2
I-131Advance parole, or TPS travel, filed from inside the US2
I-131Refugee travel document2 if you file from outside the US; none from inside
I-131Re-entry permitNone
I-130Petition for a spouse2 of you and 2 of your spouse (if your spouse is in the US), taken within 30 days of filing
I-129FK-1 fiancé(e) petition1 of you and 1 of your fiancé(e), taken within 30 days of filing
I-90Replace or renew a Green CardNone. Your photo is taken at the biometrics appointment
N-400Citizenship (naturalization)None if you apply from inside the US; 2 if you apply from outside it
N-600Certificate of citizenshipNone if you live in the US; 2 if you live abroad
N-565Replace a citizenship document2, only if you live outside the US
I-751Remove the conditions on a Green Card2 for each person, only if you are overseas on military or government orders
I-821DDACANone
I-821Temporary Protected Status (TPS)None. Photos are taken at biometrics
I-829Investor: remove the conditionsNone
I-589AsylumNone. The form's page says not to send passport-style photos

USCIS can still ask for photos later. The N-400 page, for example, says you may need to send physical passport photos after you have filed, and USCIS then sends a letter that says how.

What changed in December 2025

USCIS policy alert PA-2025-29, "Photograph Reuse for Identity Documents", is dated 12 December 2025. It applies to every form filed on or after that day:

  • USCIS "will not use or reuse self-submitted photographs" on the cards and documents it issues. The photo on your Green Card, work permit or certificate is normally one taken by USCIS or an authorised office.
  • For Forms I-485, I-90, N-400 and N-600, USCIS never reuses an older photo: you go to a biometrics appointment and a new one is taken.
  • For other forms, USCIS may reuse a photo taken at an earlier biometrics appointment, if it is no more than 3 years old when you file, or it may take a new one.

The alert did not remove the printed photos from the forms. The I-485 instructions were reissued on 18 September 2026, nine months later, and still ask for two photos. So if your form's instructions list photos, send them. The USCIS Policy Manual now includes the rule (Volume 1, Part C, Chapter 2), and on 20 October 2026 the alert was still the latest change to that chapter.

The photo rules

Where a form asks for photos, the I-485 instructions (edition 09/18/26) describe them, and the I-765 and I-131 instructions use the same rules:

  • Size: 2 × 2 inches (51 × 51 mm), full face, from the front.
  • Head: 1 to 1 3/8 inches from the bottom of the chin to the top of the hair.
  • Eyes: 1 1/8 to 1 3/8 inches from the bottom of the photo.
  • Background: white to off-white.
  • Paper: thin paper with a glossy finish, not mounted and not retouched. USCIS explains that unretouched means the photo must not be edited or digitally enhanced.
  • Head covering: bare head, unless your religion requires a covering.
  • Colour: two identical colour photos.
  • On the back: lightly write your name and A-Number (if you have one) in pencil or felt pen.

How recent must the photos be?

The forms say "taken recently". The USCIS Policy Manual is more exact for the I-485: the photos "must have been taken within 30 days of filing". The I-130 and I-129F instructions say the same, 30 days. So take new photos for each filing.

No USCIS page we found gives 6 months. That is the State Department's rule for passport and visa photos, which is a different agency with different rules.

Can I take the photos at home?

The instructions describe the photo, not who takes it: they do not say the photos must come from a studio. A photo you take at home can be printed and sent if it follows every rule above. Because the photos must not be edited or digitally enhanced, stand in front of a real white or off-white wall rather than changing the background later.

The December 2025 alert is titled "Photograph Reuse for Identity Documents", so its words "self-submitted photographs" are about the photo printed on your card. A photo from a shop that you mail in is self-submitted too, and neither is used on the card.

Glasses and smiling

The USCIS form instructions say nothing about glasses or your expression. The State Department's US passport and visa rules do not allow glasses, so if you want one photo that suits both, take your glasses off and keep a neutral expression.

Filing online

If you file online and the form needs passport-style photos, USCIS says to scan them or take a picture of them with your phone, then upload that. Files can be up to 12 MB, generally PDF, JPG or JPEG. After you file, you may be called to a biometrics appointment, where your photo, signature and fingerprints can be taken.

The biometrics appointment

You get an appointment notice (Form I-797C) at an Application Support Center. Bring:

  • every appointment notice you received;
  • a valid photo ID, such as your Green Card, passport or driver's licence.

Your photo, fingerprints and signature are taken on machines there. For citizenship, USCIS may use that photo on your Certificate of Naturalization, and suggests wearing clothes you would be happy to see on it. To move the appointment, use your USCIS online account at least 12 hours before it, or call 800-375-5283.

If you live outside the US

Some forms ask for printed photos only from people who live abroad: N-400, N-600 and N-565, the I-131 refugee travel document, and the I-751 for people overseas on military or government orders. The N-400 page adds that service members stationed abroad send photos taken by the military police or by DHS officials at a US embassy or consulate.

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