# DSP-150 Border Crossing Card: Photo Requirements and Documents to Prepare Canonical: https://filevale.com/guides/dsp-150-border-crossing-card-documents-photo-requirements/ Updated: 2026-11-06 > DSP-150 border crossing card photo rules and documents, as covered in November 2026, plus how to convert and shrink files without uploading them. For a DSP-150 border crossing card you fill in the online DS-160 form and add one digital photo: a recent color JPEG, square, between 600 x 600 and 1200 x 1200 pixels, no larger than 240 KB, taken against a plain white or off-white background. At the consulate appointment you then show a valid Mexican passport and proof of the ties that bring you back to Mexico. The card is back in the news: in November 2026, El Cronista explained that the DSP-150 lets Mexican citizens who live in Mexico enter the United States without a tourist visa stamped in their passport, and listed who can apply and what to bring. This guide covers the file side: getting your photo into the right format and size, and turning paper documents into tidy PDFs on your own device. ## What the DSP-150 is, in short The DSP-150 is the border crossing card, often called the "laser visa". It is only for Mexican citizens living in Mexico, and you apply through the same process as a B1/B2 visitor visa: the DS-160 online, a fee, and an interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate in Mexico. Rules and fees change, so always check the official U.S. Department of State instructions before you submit. ## Photo requirements to check before you upload - Taken within the last six months, in color. - Your full face, looking straight at the camera, neutral expression, eyes open. - Plain white or off-white background, no shadows. - No glasses; no hats or head coverings except for religious or medical reasons. - File: JPEG, square, 600 x 600 to 1200 x 1200 pixels, 240 KB or less. ## Turn an iPhone photo into a JPG [Open HEIC to JPG Converter](https://filevale.com/heic-to-jpg/) iPhones save photos as HEIC by default, and visa photo upload tools expect JPEG. HEIC to JPG turns iPhone HEIC photos into JPGs that open anywhere, and it runs in your browser, so your face photo is not uploaded anywhere. 1. Open HEIC to JPG and drop your photo on the page. 2. Run the conversion. 3. Download the JPG and check its size and dimensions. Filevale can't resize or crop images. To make the photo square and within 600 to 1200 pixels, crop it first with the built-in editor on your phone or computer, such as Photos on iPhone or Preview on a Mac. ## Get the photo under 240 KB [Open Reduce File Size](https://filevale.com/reduce-file-size/) If the JPG is still over 240 KB, Reduce File Size re-encodes photos as JPEG at the quality you pick. 1. Drop the JPG on the page. 2. Adjust the quality if you like, then click **Reduce**. 3. Download the new copy. If it is still too big, lower the quality and run it again on the same file. If a JPEG is already as small as it can be, you are told so and the original is kept. Before you upload, you can also strip GPS location and camera details with [Remove EXIF Data](/remove-exif-data/). ## Scan your supporting documents into one PDF [Open Scan to PDF](https://filevale.com/scan-to-pdf/) Most papers go to the interview in person, but a digital copy is useful for your own records or if you are asked to send one. Scan to PDF uses your phone or laptop camera, or photos you already took, auto-crops and cleans up each page, and saves them as one PDF. 1. Choose your JPG, PNG, WEBP or HEIC files and put them in order. 2. Click **Create PDF**. Everything happens on your device. 3. Download the PDF. Pages are saved as images, so the text in the PDF can't be selected or searched. If you already have separate PDFs, combine them with [Merge PDF](/merge-pdf/). On iPhone, the free Filevale app also scans documents on-device. For more on handling ID scans, see [how to send a passport scan safely](/guides/how-to-send-passport-scan-safely-without-uploading/), and if a portal rejects a file, read [visa application upload rejected](/guides/visa-application-upload-rejected-file-too-large/). ## Frequently asked questions ### Can I use the same photo as for my passport? Only if it meets the visa rules: taken within the last six months, plain light background, no glasses, and saved as a JPEG of 600 to 1200 pixels square under 240 KB. ### Does Filevale check whether my photo will be accepted? No. Filevale converts and shrinks the file, but it does not crop, resize or judge the photo against the visa rules. The DS-160 photo upload runs its own check, so read any message it shows and fix the photo before continuing. ### Are my passport and photo uploaded when I use these tools? No. Every Filevale tool runs in your browser, so the photo and the documents stay on your device. The same approach is covered in our [DV Lottery photo guide](/guides/dv-lottery-2027-photo-requirements-resize-convert/).