The Diversity Visa lottery is free to enter and unforgiving about details. This page covers how the programme works, who can enter, the mistakes that void an entry, and the one photo rule that catches most people: exactly 600×600 pixels.
Check My DV Photo — $4.99The entry itself is free. You pay only if you want the full-resolution file without a watermark.
Basics
The Diversity Visa programme makes about 50,000 immigrant visas available each year to people from countries that send relatively few immigrants to the United States. Selection is random — there is no merit test, no employer sponsor, and no fee to enter.
Entry happens online during a registration window that opens once a year, usually in the autumn and lasting around five weeks. Winning the lottery does not grant a visa by itself: it gives you a place in line to apply, which means an interview, a medical exam, and a set of documents including two printed photographs.
Every year, thousands of entries are discarded for a reason that has nothing to do with eligibility — usually the photo. The system rejects duplicates, and it rejects files that do not match the specification exactly.
Eligibility
Two conditions. Most people fail the second one without realising it.
Photo rules
Most US photo specs allow a range. The DV entry does not.
| Requirement | This document |
|---|---|
| Pixel dimensions | Exactly 600 × 600 — not 599, not 1200 |
| Aspect ratio | Square |
| File format | JPEG (.jpg) |
| Maximum file size | 240 KB |
| Minimum file size | None — the rules set no floor |
| Head height | 50–69% of the frame |
| Eye height (from bottom) | 56–69% |
| Background | Plain white or off-white |
| Photo age | Taken within the last 6 months |
| If you scan a print | 2×2 in at 300 dpi |
We resize to exactly 600×600 and compress under the limit. A perfect 1200×1200 file will still be rejected by the entry system.
Mistakes
Avoiding scams
There is no official fee to submit a DV entry. Websites that charge a "processing fee" before you can enter are reselling a free form, and some are simply collecting card details.
Two rules keep you safe: submit your entry on the official government site, and never pay anyone who promises to increase your chances. Selection is a random draw — nobody can influence it.
We prepare and check the photo file — the entry itself is yours to file at dvprogram.state.gov, and the draw is random.
Questions
That is the number the entry system specifies. It is a single fixed dimension rather than a range, so a 1200×1200 file — otherwise perfect — fails.
No. The published rule is only a maximum of 240 KB. A smaller file that still looks sharp is acceptable; we never pad a file to look bigger.
Yes, if it meets the DV specification exactly — which usually means resizing to 600×600 and recompressing under 240 KB. The geometry rules are the same.
Two identical 2×2 inch prints at the interview, on photo-quality paper. Your 4×6 sheet gives six copies, so one pharmacy print covers it.
Ready when you are
Resized to exactly 600×600, compressed under 240 KB, checked against the published rules.
