The United States Mission in Nigeria has cautioned Nigerians applying for U.S. passports and visas not to submit passport photographs that have been altered with artificial intelligence or digital editing tools.

In an advisory posted on its official X account on Friday, the mission said only authentic, unedited photographs that accurately reflect an applicant’s current appearance will be accepted during the application process.

According to the embassy, passport photos must be taken within the last six months and should clearly resemble the applicant to allow officials to easily verify their identity during travel and border inspections.

The mission stressed that images enhanced with AI, beauty filters or other editing software do not meet U.S. passport photo requirements and could affect the processing of applications.

It warned that applicants who submit digitally modified photographs may experience significant delays while their applications are being reviewed.

The embassy also encouraged applicants to follow the official U.S. Department of State passport photo guidelines to ensure their photographs meet the required standards before submission.