Free EAD Photo Online — Make a 2×2 in Employment Authorization (I-765) Photo

Need an EAD photo for your work permit application? Upload a recent photo and IDPhotoBy sizes and crops it to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) standard for the Employment Authorization Document (EAD), which you request on Form I-765 — a square, color photo with a full-face, frontal view and your head 1 to 1 3/8 inches (about 25–35 mm) from the top of your hair to the bottom of your chin on a plain white to off-white background. The US Employment Authorization document is already selected, so you get a 2×2 inch (51×51 mm) photo, the exact size USCIS asks for on Form I-765. It is free — no payment required.

This page is specifically for the EAD (work permit) photo you file with Form I-765. If you need a photo for a different USCIS form — the green card (Form I-485) or naturalization (Form N-400), or a generic photo for any USCIS form — IDPhotoBy has separate pages for those.

USCIS sets the photo requirements for the Form I-765 employment authorization application, and IDPhotoBy checks your photo against them. According to the USCIS Form I-765 instructions, the ead photo requirements are:

• 2×2 inches (51×51 mm) — a square, color photo with a full-face, frontal view.
• Head height 1 to 1 3/8 inches (about 25–35 mm) — measured from the top of your hair to the bottom of your chin, with your head centered and facing the camera.
• Eye height 1 1/8 to 1 3/8 inches — your eyes should sit 1 1/8 to 1 3/8 inches (about 29–35 mm) from the bottom of the photo.
• Plain white to off-white background — with no shadows, patterns, objects or lines behind you.
• Taken recently — USCIS asks for photographs of yourself taken recently, so do not reuse an old passport or visa photo.
• Neutral, natural expression — look straight at the camera with both eyes open.
• Bare head — your head must be bare, unless you wear headwear as required by your religious denomination, and it must not obscure your face.
• Unmounted and unretouched — the photo must be unretouched, so your face is left exactly as it is.

The ead photo size is 2×2 inches, which is 51×51 mm (about 5×5 cm) — a square photo with your head centered. USCIS states the size in inches and does not require a specific pixel count, DPI or file size in kilobytes, so IDPhotoBy outputs a square 2×2 inch file at a high print resolution: you get a print-ready photo to put on paper, plus a matching square digital image. Because USCIS states no digital size cap, one 2×2 render works whether you upload the photo with an online I-765 filing or mail printed photos.

Head height uses the top-of-hair to bottom-of-chin measurement (1 to 1 3/8 inches), and your eyes sit 1 1/8 to 1 3/8 inches from the bottom of the photo — IDPhotoBy sets this framing for you, so you do not have to measure anything by hand.

It helps to be clear about which photo this tool prepares. You file Form I-765 to request employment authorization and an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). The EAD itself is the physical card — Form I-766 — that USCIS produces and mails to you. The photo you prepare here is the 2×2 application photo you submit with Form I-765; it does not become the picture printed on the EAD card. USCIS may also capture a photograph in person when you provide biometrics at an Application Support Center. So IDPhotoBy prepares the 2×2 photo you file with your I-765 — nothing more is claimed.

A couple of details trip people up, and most photo tools stay silent on them:

• You submit two identical photos. The USCIS Form I-765 instructions ask for two identical color passport-style photographs of yourself taken recently, so IDPhotoBy gives you one file you can print or upload twice so both copies match.
• Online or paper. You can file Form I-765 online by creating a USCIS account (myUSCIS) or file a paper application instead. Where a photo is uploaded online it is the same square 2×2 image; where photos are mailed, they are the printed 2×2 prints — the file IDPhotoBy gives you works for either channel.
• Printing. If you mail prints, the instructions call for photos printed on thin paper with a glossy finish, kept unmounted and unretouched. Use a pencil or felt pen to lightly print your name and A-Number (if any) on the back of each photo.

People request an Employment Authorization Document on Form I-765 under many different eligibility categories — and USCIS uses the same square 2×2 inch photo for all of them. Whichever EAD category you are filing under — for example an OPT or STEM OPT EAD, an H4 EAD, an adjustment-of-status EAD, or an EAD renewal — you upload one photo and IDPhotoBy crops it to the 2×2 inch (51×51 mm) standard. Your category affects the codes and supporting documents that go on the form itself, not the photo. Always follow the photo section of your own Form I-765 instructions for your category.

USCIS lets you take the photo yourself — there is no requirement to use a professional photographer for the I-765 photos. You can make a free EAD photo at home with a phone and still get a compliant result:

• Stand about 60 cm (2 feet) in front of a plain white or off-white wall, in soft, even daylight so there are no shadows behind you or on your face.
• Face the camera straight on in full-face view, with a natural expression and both eyes open. Have someone take the photo, or use a timer, and hold the phone at eye level.
• Fill the frame with your head and the top of your shoulders, then upload it here and let the EAD photo tool crop it to the exact 2×2 inch (51×51 mm) size, check the background and give you a ready file.

The same steps prepare a work permit photo for a spouse or family member filing their own I-765. It stays free — no payment required.

IDPhotoBy sizes and crops the photo you upload to the 2×2 inch (51×51 mm) USCIS standard and checks that the background is a plain white to off-white without shadows. It does not retouch, beautify or otherwise edit your face. That matters here: USCIS states that photos must be unmounted and unretouched — unretouched means the photos must not be edited or digitally enhanced — so your face is left exactly as it is, and only the framing, size and background are prepared.

We also do not promise acceptance — no online tool honestly can. Your file is prepared to the published USCIS requirements, but USCIS decides whether your application and photo are accepted. And we do not invent a file-size, pixel or DPI cap that USCIS never states for the I-765 photo. It stays free: no paid plan, no per-photo charge, no skip-the-line fee.

• A busy or colored background. It must be plain white to off-white, with no shadows, patterns or objects behind you.
• An old photo. USCIS asks for a photograph taken recently, so do not reuse a photo from an old passport or visa.
• A head covering. Your head must be bare, except for headwear worn as required by your religious denomination — and it must not obscure your face.
• A retouched or filtered photo. Beauty filters and appearance-changing edits are not allowed; use a straight, unedited photo and let the tool handle only the size, crop and background.
• The wrong size or count. The photo must be 2×2 inches (51×51 mm) with your head 1 to 1 3/8 inches from hair to chin, and you submit two identical copies — IDPhotoBy sets the size and crop for you.

Requirements can change — check the official USCIS Form I-765 instructions (uscis.gov/i-765) before you file; USCIS makes the final decision on your application and photo.