Denied for not submitting a passport style photo even though we did

[96987 1]

I received the notification that they received the RFE. I just checked and my photo is in line with the guidelines and the validator NigeriaorBust posted. image.jpg

Here is the photo...My biggest confusion is why they accepted my fiance's and not mine because they look exactly the same except with different people

Sorry to hear about your denial. If you sent in this exact photo it is absolutely not in line with the guidelines and they are pretty strict on those. Your photo is off in size and also slightly off in color. But the size is definitely a deal breaker here. I took a good pic off the guideline site and put yours next to it. You can see the difference (the pic needs to be square for starters) and where you went wrong if this is the pic you've sent in.

[soulstriker 274]

looking at your pic the teeth showing could be labled as gesture , they dont want smiling in the passport pic , also the color tent is off , and the ears arent showing as everyone else mentioned , those 3 reasons would be why they denied it , its safe to go 2 by 2 or close as you can to 2 by 2 ,your length seems to be extremely long , so that could be an additional issue .

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

My passport photos have me smiling and my ears covered and it was no problem. You can smile in US passport photos and show teeth (no cheesy grins but normal smile okay).

I would lean more toward the fact that the photo is not square, and it is not with a white background.

[Ketsuban 1,034]

My ears aren't showing in any of my pics either. I'd also wager it's the yellow tint, size and possibly teeth showing.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

You have too much white space ( ok tan space) over your head , Your face has to be nearly the whole frame. Look at the face/shoulder blob in the validator and how is it most of the frame

[Rc123rc 528]

We did a lot of research on the photos. The ears were 50/50 about whether was OK to show or not but we went with ears showing to be on the safe side. Looking at the picture I can tell right away the background color is wrong, the picture is not square and the face would probably not fit properly in a verification app given the size of the photo.

[Scandi 3,970]

My ears are covered in all my passport photos and that was never a problem. I did mine at a real photosgrapher's though, not with that odd yellow background you have there and my pics were 5*5 cm which is roughly 2x2 inches which they require (yours isn't).

Here in Sweden your facial expression is supposed to be "neutral" (ie no smiles or anything), I like America much better that way, you're actually allowed to smile on your passport and/or driver's license pics! Or maybe that's a state specific thing?

[MelinaMurren 0]

Thank you so much for all of your help!!

I am thinking it might be that there is too much space above my head. However, the first picture I sent in had less white space (probably too much >.<) My fiance's photo was not square either and the background color was identical.

I made an appointment at the local office and plan to bring in these photos as well as another one which I will get taken at CVS or Walgreens and see whether they will reopen the case or what to do next.

I am thinking of submitting a motion to submit additional evidence with the new "perfect" photo. If anyone has any experience with submitting a motion it would be greatly appreciated!!

Again, thank you all so much

[Cathi 5,610]

are you sure you were denied because of this? Is that what they told you? I have long hair in my passport that covers my ears, I've never heard of someone being denied because if that

Edited October 12, 2016 by mimolicious

[MelinaMurren 0]

Yes @mimolicious, this is the only reason they provided for why we were denied. The letter said that they requested the photos but I did not submit them. I am not sure if they mean I did not submit a "proper" photo or if they just missed it altogether.

I did not know they would be so picky about this picture. I figure they need this mainly for purposes of identification. It seems absolutely unreasonable to deny the entire petition just because there is a little more whitespace above my head.

[Umka36 781]

My wife's photo for the K1 petition had her ear covered, and we didn't have any issue. The only time she had issue with her photo in regards to her ear being covered was when her K1 visa was being processed the Embassy. They had her retake it. This was back in 2011.

[Ash.1101 1,755]

Yes @mimolicious, this is the only reason they provided for why we were denied. The letter said that they requested the photos but I did not submit them. I am not sure if they mean I did not submit a "proper" photo or if they just missed it altogether.

I did not know they would be so picky about this picture. I figure they need this mainly for purposes of identification. It seems absolutely unreasonable to deny the entire petition just because there is a little more whitespace above my head.

Yeah, it's possible that they just straight up aren't considering your photo a passport style photo. While it sucks they're being nit picky, I'd think in their mind that the instructions say the photo should be 2x2.

In comparison to what the other poster posted as his passport photo, it could also be that your face was too large in the picture. Your face from chin to hair line is only suppose to be about an inch according to the I-129F instructions.

Your photo is 2x2.7 inches, width x length, and your facial area is almost 1.4 inchs when it's suppose to be an inch. While .4 inches might not seem like a lot, it is a lot when the photos so small. All I did was put the ruler tool up on MS Paint to see the differences between the sample passport photo and yours.

I also don't think they're just for identification per se. I'm pretty sure they go in your file, and one thing the government likes about it's paperwork is for everything to be uniform. If they just needed it to go "oh hey, this is what this person looks like, now we know" they wouldn't ask for even more photo's at the AOS process. 6 in total if you do I-485, EAD and AP.

It could also be as something as simple as they don't want to have to waste their time cropping the picture once they scan it into the system. If say they scan it, and the system yells at them for the pic not being 2x2, they might just say, well I'm not doing that, and send an RFE.

Edited October 12, 2016 by Ash.1101

[MelinaMurren 0]

These are the only instructions for the photo. And again, my fiance's photo was the same except his face was even bigger in the picture.

But your reasoning makes a lot of sense about needing everything to be uniform. Thank you so much for your help!! I will bring the "perfected" picture to the appointment and try to get it sent in.

[Scandi 3,970]

These are the only instructions for the photo. And again, my fiance's photo was the same except his face was even bigger in the picture.

But your reasoning makes a lot of sense about needing everything to be uniform. Thank you so much for your help!! I will bring the "perfected" picture to the appointment and try to get it sent in.

In the K-1 guide (http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide) you find a link to the requirements for the photos USCIS wants.

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/photos/photos.html

Edited October 12, 2016 by Scandi

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

It's cheaper and faster just to refile. I-129Fs are going fast, I'd resubmit ASAP, honestly. You'd lose just as much time trying to reopen the case, and spend more money.

You said you sent two photos, one initially, and a new one with the RFE. Did they both look like this?