Are US passports pictures for naturalized citizens taken slightly sideways, showing the right ear? If so, why?
I don’t know if they are taken slightly sideways. If they are, it might be for confirmation of identification. Everyone’s ears are different. Experts are able to compare ears similarly to what they do with fingerprints.
U.S. passport pictures are supplied by the applicant, aren’t they? Mine was, but I’m a natural-born citizen.
When I got my passport, I had my picture taken at the local Wal-Mart photo studio. It is an area with a lot of various ethnic groups, and I look like I could possibly be from elsewhere. They never asked and took my picture straight ahead. I’m reasonably sure that if that was a rule, the passport photo places would be aware of it.
Plus, there’s this:
http://travel.state.gov/pptphotos/head_position.html
From the US state department web site, it states:
Head should be positioned directly facing the camera
Photo should capture from slightly above top of hair to middle of chest
Eyes should be open and looking at the camera
Eyeglasses should be worn if normally used by the subject
Glare on eyeglasses can usually be avoided with a slight upward or downward tilt of the head
Background should be plain white or off-white
Include headpieces if worn daily for religious purposes; they should not obscure or cast shadows on the eyes or any other part of the face
Facing the camera is defined as:
Subject Pose - the subject’s head, face and shoulders which should be oriented so that the full face frontal view varies no more than ±5 degrees from frontal in every direction.
My mothers naturalization papers include a regular front of the face photo.
She was naturalized around 1979 or 80ish, if that makes a difference.
I don’t know about passport pictures, but the green card pictures are very specific, and include showing the right ear. They also require three identical pictures which can be difficult because all the cameras for passport pictures are for 2. I naturalised in 1993 and the picture on the papers shows the right ear too I vaguely remember that being a requirement, but could have it being tangled with the green card stuff.
MC$E posted the correct information regarding the passport photo. Please note that there is no difference as to how one acquired US citizenship: the passport photo requirement pertains to all citizens desiring a passport.
To get the correct information regarding the “Green Card” and the naturalization certificate photographs, check the BCIS website.
Sorry, no cite, but when I had my Green Card pics taken, the rule was indeed that the picture had to show the right ear. An immigration attorney told me it’s because the shape of the ears is as unique as a fingerprint. Anecdotal, of course.
I heard the same thing about the ear being unique. Wasn’t that mentioned when discussion flared on Saddam Hussein’s lookalikes?
To provide a more detailed BCIS cite than the one above, this PDF of the photo requirements for all INS forms (M-378 (6-92)) does indeed state