J2 visa / EAD approval c5
u/JellyPrestigious4127r/USCISMar 7, 2026
We filled end of December got RFE for photos and did that 03/25.
Yes—you must submit two identical, recent color passport-style photographs with your J-2 Form I-765 application.
“I am a J-2 visa holder applying for an EAD. Is it mandatory to include passport photos in my application? If so, what are the requirements for the photos (size, quantity) and where can I find this referenced on the USCIS website?”
Summary
This is straightforward: obtain two matching, recent 2-by-2-inch photos and follow the appearance and labeling rules below. USCIS’s new instructions effective tomorrow do not change these photo specifications.
Because USCIS changes Form I-765 editions on Sept. 15, 2026, the correct form depends on your application’s postmark date.
Postmarked before Sept. 15today only
If your application is postmarked today, Sept. 14, use the 08/21/25 Form I-765 edition and include two compliant photographs (USCIS Form I-765 Instructions, 08/21/25, p. 22; USCIS edition alert, Aug. 14, 2026).
Postmarked Sept. 15 or latertomorrow onward
Use the 09/15/26 Form I-765 edition. USCIS will reject the 08/21/25 edition when postmarked on or after Sept. 15; the new instructions retain the same two-photo, 2-by-2-inch requirement (USCIS edition alert, Aug. 14, 2026; Form I-765 Instructions, 09/15/26 preview, Required Documentation, C. Photographs).
The photograph requirements are the same in the 08/21/25 and 09/15/26 instructions.
Read the full explanationHide the full explanation
Watch out for
Form edition changes tomorrowToday is Sept. 14, 2026. Use the 08/21/25 edition only if the application will be postmarked before Sept. 15; USCIS says it will reject that edition when postmarked on or after Sept. 15 and will then accept only the 09/15/26 edition (USCIS Form I-765 edition alert, Aug. 14, 2026).
Label the backsUsing a pencil or felt pen, lightly write your name and A-Number, if you have one, on the back of both photos (Form I-765 Instructions, 08/21/25, Required Documentation, C. Photographs, p. 22).
Check both sets of measurementsEach photo must be 2 by 2 inches. Within that photo, your head must measure 1 to 1 3/8 inches from hair to chin, and the top of your eyes must be 1 1/8 to 1 3/8 inches from the bottom (Form I-765 Instructions, 08/21/25, p. 22).
Next steps
These steps will make the photograph portion of your J-2 Form I-765 submission comply with the USCIS instructions.
Before preparing the packet
Choose the correct Form I-765 edition
For a packet postmarked before Sept. 15, 2026, use edition 08/21/25. For a packet postmarked on or after Sept. 15, use edition 09/15/26; USCIS will reject the older edition. The official form page is https://www.uscis.gov/i-765.
Requirements
Your planned mailing and postmark date
For the required-document section
Obtain two identical recent photographs
Use recent color passport-style photos with a white or off-white background. They must be printed on thin paper with a glossy finish and be unmounted and unretouched. The official reference is “Required Documentation—C. Photographs,” page 22 of the 08/21/25 instructions: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-765instr.pdf.
Requirements
Two matching color photographs
Each photograph exactly 2 by 2 inches
Before labeling the photos
Check the face and head measurements
Measure from the top of your hair to the bottom of your chin for head height. Measure from the top of your eyes to the bottom of the photo for eye height. Keep your head bare unless you wear headwear required by your religious denomination.
Requirements
Full-face frontal view
Head height of 1 to 1 3/8 inches
Eye height of 1 1/8 to 1 3/8 inches from the bottom
Before mailing Form I-765
Label the photos and include both
Lightly print your name and A-Number, if any, on the back of each photograph, then include both photographs in your Form I-765 submission. The 09/15/26 instructions contain the same rule: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/Preview_Form_I-765_Instructions_9-15-26_Edition_USCIS_WILL_REJECT_IF_POSTMARKED_BEFORE_09-15-26.pdf.
Requirements
Pencil or felt pen
Your name
Your A-Number, if you have one
Others who faced this
You are not the first to go through this. Here is how it went for others who asked the same thing.
Legal sources
The answer comes directly from USCIS’s Form I-765 Instructions, employment-authorization table, and Aug. 14, 2026 edition-transition alert.
Form I-765 Instructions (08/21/25)
The current instructions make two printed passport-style photographs mandatory and provide their complete specifications.
Form I-765 Instructions (08/21/25)
Required Documentation, C. Photographs, page 22
You must submit two identical color passport-style photographs of yourself taken recently. The photos must have a white to off-white background, be printed on thin paper with a glossy finish, and be unmounted and unretouched. The photos must be 2 by 2 inches with a full face, frontal view. Head height should measure 1 to 1 3/8 inches from the top of your hair to the bottom of your chin, and eye height should measure between 1 1/8 to 1 3/8 inches from the top of your eyes to the bottom of the photo. Your head must be bare unless you are wearing headwear as required by your religious denomination. Use a pencil or felt pen to lightly print your name and A-Number (if any) on the back of the photos.
Form I-765 Instructions (09/15/26 preview)
The new edition effective Sept. 15, 2026 keeps the same photograph specifications.
Form I-765 Instructions (09/15/26 preview)
Required Documentation, C. Photographs
You must submit two identical color passport-style photographs of yourself taken recently. The photos must have a white to off-white background, be printed on thin paper with a glossy finish, and be unmounted and unretouched. The photos must be 2 by 2 inches with a full face, frontal view. Head height should measure 1 to 1 3/8 inches from the top of your hair to the bottom of your chin, and eye height should measure between 1 1/8 to 1 3/8 inches from the top of your eyes to the bottom of the photo. Your head must be bare unless you are wearing headwear as required by your religious denomination. Use a pencil or felt pen to lightly print your name and A-Number (if any) on the back of the photos.
USCIS Form I-765 Edition Alert
This USCIS alert determines which Form I-765 edition is valid around the Sept. 15, 2026 changeover.
USCIS Form I-765 Edition Alert
Form I-765 transition instructions
If filing Form I-765, please note that USCIS will: Accept the 08/21/25 edition of Form I-765 if it is postmarked or electronically submitted before Sept. 15, 2026; Reject the 08/21/25 edition of Form I-765 if it is postmarked or electronically submitted on or after Sept. 15, 2026; and Only accept the 09/15/26 edition of Form I-765 if it is postmarked or electronically submitted on or after Sept. 15, 2026.
USCIS Employment Authorization eligibility table
USCIS identifies a J-2 spouse or child as Form I-765 eligibility category (c)(5).
USCIS Employment Authorization eligibility table
Form I-765 Category table
(c)(5) | J-2 spouse or child of J-1 exchange visitor
These are the official USCIS rules as published on the cited dates; forms and instructions can change.
This is general information about official processes, not legal advice, and SettleKit is not a law firm.
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