As a saying goes “ Even the wise are not always free from error”, it is common to make some errors in daily life, the same is true for taking a passport photo that is not compliant with the state official requirements.

Are there any factors leading to the horrific Waterloo and making the painstaking efforts for producing a standard passport photo of no avail?

There must be a multitude of people who have went through the similar situations, so what are the exact methods to cope with the situation?

Even if your passport photo failed to pass the verification due to some reasons, don’t worry, there is always a way out.

Why your passport photo may get rejected by the official authorities?

Different groups of individuals may encounter various conditions when it comes to creating a passport photo not compliant with the specified requirements.

Considering comprehensively the culprits causing the failure of the passport photo verification, we have listed six elements resulting in the fiasco. Some reliable and effective suggestions for rejected passport photo will be provided about how to correctly produce a one  compliant with state’s regulations.

1. Low-resolution photo

It is necessary to submit an up-to-date and high-resolution photochrome instead of choosing a low-resolution one with your facial features blurred.

It is a must to upload your colour photo that had been taken within half a year to ensure your latest state of physical appearance.

A photo taken for years is not useful because the definition of the photo would be reduced after years of oxidisation and some facial expressions would get slight changes after years of growth.

2. Wrong head dimension

Keep your head between 25 to 35 mm in a photo of 2×2 inches (or 51×51 mm) from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head rather than make your head occupy 80 to 90 percent of the whole photo.

In addition, there must be some space between the top of your head and the upper edge of the photo, as well as on the left and right edges of the photo.

If you already have a passport-style photo (with a white background) but in a different size, see how you can resize your picture to US passport photo dimensions.

3. Inappropriate clothing and adornment

You should put on everyday clothes and avoid outfits having the same colour as the wall, and try to wear no or light makeup.

You can choose any casual attire you like but pay attention to your face and neckline are being seen in the passport photo without obscuring your facial expressions.

Moreover, any accessories, including earrings, necklace, hair band,hair clips, etc are not allowed to take in order to keep a real state of your physical appearance.

It is not allowed to wear glasses and glasses or head coverings unless for religious or medical reasons (with signed statement) and wear colourful clothing and heavily powder face.

However, permanent tattoos in your passport photo are acceptable by the passport agency as long as they don’t cover significant facial expressions of your face.

4. Lighting and shadows

Lighting is the finish touch for producing a passport photo compliant with official regulations. A suitable light plays a decisive role in determining whether your facial expressions are properly exposed and clearly seen.

Your face should not be either over- or underexposed in the case that the light is strong or feeble.

So you should choose a well-lit area and stand in front of the window being 1 or 1.5 meters away from the wall to produce a shadowless passport photo.

It is recommended that you shoot passport photos in natural light so that verification of your passport photo will not be failed due to the inadequate or excessive light.

5. Excessive beautifying and editing

Allow no extra changes to photos including skin whitening, face slimming and eye largening. Blemish removal and contrast changes are banned as well.

The use of face beautifying will change the authenticity of your facial expressions causing untruthfulness of your passport photo. Therefore, those who adorn themselves with extra makeup or beautification should be more aware of this.

Remember to cut the photo into 2×2 inches with length and width being the same and presenting a square pattern. Not to cut the picture into such shapes as rectangle, circle and other forms.

Proper use of brightness and contrast is of vital importance that could increase the radiance and rebalance the hues.

While overuse of brightness and contrast will damage the whole balance of the image to create a dark- or light -coloured picture.

Meanwhile, colour correction and cropping are also the needs. The former will improve the quality of the photo to make colours more natural, while the latter resize your passport photo to meet 2×2 inches size official requirements.

6. Colourful and untidy background 

It is essential to select white or off-white background with a clean and smooth surface instead of choosing a bright-coloured background with a dirty and uneven texture.

Ensure that the wall you use to take a passport photo is plain and tidy, avoiding some unwanted sundries that may affect the whole image and lead to the failure of verification.

If there are not some plain space on the wall of your home, do not be anxious, our web-based service is equipped with a great number functions to help changethe background and remove the unwanted distractions.

Moreover, numerous professional experts are available in our web-based offering you professional verification of your passport photo for compliance.

7. Unsuitable photo format

You should submit JEPG photo formats for online application and prepare matte or glossy photo quality paper for on-site applications.

Avoid printing PDT or other photo formats that are not compliant with the official standards.

8. Obstructed Internet

A fluent and smooth Internet is the key step for ensuring your passport photo to be uploaded successfully.

A bad Internet will also impede the whole process of completion contributing to the failure of the official verification.

Therefore, you should make sure that you are in a environment filled with a fluent and fast Internet.

Only in this way can the assiduous efforts of your practice be rewarded.

What happens if your US passport photo is rejected?

Just set your mind at ease, because the rejected passport photo will not frustrate the whole process of your application.

Even if some mistakes are found by the authorities in your passport photo, don’t be upset, the authorities will send you an official rejection letter enclosed with the detailed explanation of the reasons why your passport photo is refused and the proper instructions on how to fix your passport photo.

Counting from the day when your passport photo is rejected, your have 90 days to reshoot your photo and send a new passport photo to the Passport Office.

And you don’t need to pay extra fees for the rejection and resubmission of your passport photo as long as you send your new passport photo within 90 days.

However, if you fail to meet the deadline for certain reasons, you have to start the whole process all over again and pay all the fees once again.

To ensure passport authorities will pass your passport photo, AiPassportPhotos, will clear your confusion and difficulties by helping you produce a passport photo compliant with state’s official regulations.

Note: If you want to get your passport photo accepted quickly, you can use AiPassportPhotos and have your image double-checked by AI and our passport photo experts with 100 percent compliance guaranteed!

FAQs

What kinds of passport photos will get rejected?

Passport photos that are unable to meet the requirements of US passport photo will be refused, resulting from the low-resolution photo, wrong head dimension, Inappropriate clothing and adornment, Lighting and shadows, Excessive beautifying and editing,Colourful and untidy background, Unsuitable photo format, Obsrtucted Internet. Only after these wrong deeds being prevented can your passport photo will be passed successfully.

Whether you have to pay again for the suspended process if your passport photo is rejected?

If you don’t upload your new passport photo within 90 days, you have to start from scratch to create your passport photo. If you have succeeded in sending your new passport photo to authorities before the due day, you don’t need to pay extra fees again. Therefore, you do not have to pay again for the suspended process if your passport photo is rejected.

Does the failure of first submission affect the second attempt for submitting the passport photo?

As long as you submit the updated version of your passport photo within the 90 days, the failure of your first submission will not exert any influence on the further process of passport photo verification. The verification of your passport photo will be continued smoothly.

By Dolores Xiao

I am a content creator and marketer with over 5 years of professional writing experience. I hold a bachelor's degree in communications and have a natural curiosity about technology, as evidenced by my technology blog. As an avid traveler, I draw upon adventures in over 10 countries to inject unique cultural perspectives into my articles and social media campaigns. I thrive on developing engaging content that informs and inspires audiences.