Drop your photo, get a square 600×600 px JPEG under 240 KB — the travel.state.gov digital image format for DS-160 and DS-260 visa applications. Compression happens in your browser; the photo never leaves your device.
The State Department's digital image requirements — used by the DS-160 nonimmigrant application and the DS-260 immigrant application — specify a square JPEG (height equal to width) between 600×600 and 1200×1200 pixels, in 24-bit sRGB colour, at most 240 KB. This page is preset to 600×600 at ≤240 KB — the same size the State Department's own crop tool outputs — so drop your photo and download the result. Any square size in the range passes: type 1200x1200 into Exact size above if your source is sharp enough to keep the extra detail. If your photo isn't square, PixFit crops it to square — drag the crop preview so your head ends up centered with room above it.
The spec also caps the compression ratio at 20:1 — meaning the file must not be squeezed too hard, not just kept small. For a 600×600 photo that works out to roughly a 54 KB floor. PixFit's behaviour is exactly what this rule wants: it finds the best quality that fits under 240 KB, which for a 600×600 photo typically lands near maximum quality, comfortably above the ratio floor. Don't set a much smaller target for this one — small files are the failure mode here, not the goal.
A scanned print must be a 2×2 inch (51×51 mm) photo scanned at 300 pixels per inch or better — which conveniently produces 600×600 pixels, already the right size. Scan, drop the scan here, done.
Format is the easy half. Composition rules — head size and position, plain white or off-white background, neutral expression, no glasses, taken within the last six months — are judged by a consular officer, and the State Department is explicit that photos must not be digitally enhanced or altered to change your appearance (AI retouching included). PixFit fixes pixels and bytes only. Check your result against the official digital image requirements before submitting, and note the State Department also offers its own free crop tool there. Entering the DV lottery instead? The E-DV form wants exactly 600×600 — see the DV lottery photo page.
A visa photo travels with your passport number and application ID — it shouldn't take a detour through a random resizer's server. PixFit re-encodes entirely in your browser: nothing is uploaded, and the re-encode strips EXIF metadata (including the GPS position of wherever you took it) as a side effect. Browser JPEG output is standard sRGB, which is what the spec asks for. An iPhone HEIC can be dropped straight in.