Visa Applicants Alert! US Old Vs New Immigration Photograph Reuse Rules, Exceptions You Must Know

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a new policy guidance "to address a change in the agency's photograph reuse policy."

It tightens rules on photographs used for immigration documents – setting new limits on how old an image can be and ending the acceptance of self-submitted photos.

What does new policy on 'Photograph Reuse for Identity Documents' say?

The US Department of Homeland Security released a press release on Friday (December 12), saying that the USCIS is now changing its photograph reuse policy.

It said the USCIS may only reuse a previously collected photograph if, at the time of filing, no more than 36 months (3 years) have passed since the date the photograph was collected at the biometric services appointment (BSA).

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The revised policy also clarified that the reuse of photographs is no longer automatic. The agency retains discretion to require a new photograph at any time, even if the existing image falls within the three-year window.

It "removes the requirement to calculate both the age of the photograph and the secure document validity time frame."

It further provides that the USCIS will not use or reuse a self-submitted photograph.

What are the exceptions?

The policy applies to all immigration benefit requests, with the exception of the Application for Naturalization (Form N-400), the Application for Certificate of Citizenship (Form N-600), the Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (Form I-90), and the Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form I-485).

These forms require the collection of new biometrics, including a new photograph.

What were the old rules?

The USCIS had earlier limited the reuse of photographs to a maximum of 10 years on any agency-issued secure document. This was after the end of COVID-19 flexibilities, in September 2024.

The USCIS used to then consider the age of the photograph at the time of initial reuse and ensured it did not exceed 10 years during the validity period of the secure document for requestors 26 years of age and older.

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As per the previous rules, for requestors 25 years of age and younger, the age of the photograph could not exceed 30 months during the validity period of the secure document.

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