Can I submit my own photo for a green card?

No. Since December 12, 2025, the photo printed on a Permanent Resident Card is only ever captured by USCIS (or another authorized entity) at a biometric services appointment. USCIS will not accept or use a photo you supply for the card itself.

Do I still need any photos for my green card application?

Sometimes. Form I-485 (adjustment of status) still requires two identical 2 x 2 inch printed photos as filing evidence, but those are not the photo that goes on the card; USCIS takes a new photo at your appointment. Form I-90 (replacing or renewing a card) requires no photos at all.

What happens if I buy a green card photo anyway?

For the card itself, nothing useful: USCIS uses the photo it captures at biometrics. If you are filing Form I-485 you do need two 2 x 2 prints for the filing, so buy photos for I-485, not for the card. For an I-90 replacement, any money spent on photos is wasted.

Why did USCIS change the green card photo policy?

USCIS announced the change as a fraud-prevention measure: capturing the photo itself at a biometrics appointment gives enhanced identity verification compared with accepting photos applicants supply.

Policy change · December 12, 2025 · verified at USCIS

Can you submit your own green card photo? Not anymore.

Since December 12, 2025, the photo printed on a green card is only ever captured by USCIS at your biometric services appointment. USCIS will not accept or use a photo you supply for the card, a change it announced as fraud prevention through enhanced identity verification. Yet when we checked four widely used photo websites on September 7, 2026, all four still sold green card photos, one with a written acceptance guarantee. Here is the verified current rule, and what those sites were still claiming.

Illustration: a photo being captured at a biometrics appointment — How the card photo happens now: captured at your biometrics appointment, not mailed in. (Illustration)

Illustration: two identical 2x2 printed photos clipped to application paperwork — The one place prints still matter: Form I-485 takes two identical 2 x 2 photos as filing evidence. (Illustration)

What you actually need now

Green card photo requirements after December 12, 2025
Situation	Photos you submit
The card itself (any green card)	None. USCIS captures the card photo at your biometrics appointment; self-submitted photos are not used
Form I-485 (applying for the green card)	Two identical 2 x 2 inch prints as filing evidence; the card photo is still taken at biometrics
Form I-90 (replacing or renewing a card)	None at all; the I-90 instructions contain no photo requirement
Form I-751 (removing conditions)	None for filers in the US; two prints per person only for overseas filers on military or government orders

Sources: USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 1, Part C, Chapter 2, and the USCIS newsroom alert announcing the policy; form-level detail verified in the I-485, I-90 and I-751 instructions. Full citations on the green card photo page.

Filing I-485? Check my photo free Replacing a card? See I-90 (no photos)

Most photo websites have not caught up

When we checked four widely used photo services on September 7, 2026, all four still sold green card photos as if nothing had changed: one with a written guarantee of acceptance "on uscis.gov," one instructing applicants that they must submit a digital photo when applying online, one citing a wrong effective date for the policy, and one on a sales page last updated months before the change. If a site is selling you a "green card photo" today, its information is out of date.

Where we stand

Our own photo tool refuses to sell a green card photo, and has since the day we launched, because no self-submitted photo can be used for the card. What we do sell, honestly: the two 2 x 2 prints Form I-485 requires as filing evidence, produced to the exact figures in the I-485 instructions. If you are replacing a card on I-90, keep your money; no photo service can sell you anything that form accepts.

Green card photo questions

Can I submit my own photo for a green card?: No. Since December 12, 2025, the photo printed on a Permanent Resident Card is only ever captured by USCIS (or another authorized entity) at a biometric services appointment. USCIS will not accept or use a photo you supply for the card itself.
Do I still need any photos for my green card application?: Sometimes. Form I-485 (adjustment of status) still requires two identical 2 x 2 inch printed photos as filing evidence, but those are not the photo that goes on the card; USCIS takes a new photo at your appointment. Form I-90 (replacing or renewing a card) requires no photos at all.
Why do photo websites still sell green card photos?: Their pages predate the December 12, 2025 policy and have not been updated. When we checked four widely used photo services on September 7, 2026, all four still sold green card photos, one with a written acceptance guarantee and one with a wrong effective date.
What happens if I buy a green card photo anyway?: For the card itself, nothing useful: USCIS uses the photo it captures at biometrics. If you are filing Form I-485 you do need two 2 x 2 prints for the filing, so buy photos for I-485, not for the card. For an I-90 replacement, any money spent on photos is wasted.
Why did USCIS change the green card photo policy?: USCIS announced the change as a fraud-prevention measure: capturing the photo itself at a biometrics appointment gives enhanced identity verification compared with accepting photos applicants supply.

Filing I-485? Those photos we can make.

Two compliant 2 x 2 prints on a ready-to-print sheet, checked free against the I-485 instructions first.

Check my photo free