USCIS online filing upload limits: 12 MB per file, PDF or JPG, no passwords
What USCIS says about evidence files today, why older guides still say 6 MB, and what to do with a file that is too big.
The rules can change, so check the USCIS page and the limits on your upload screen before you file. Deftfile is not part of USCIS or the U.S. government and does not give legal advice. We cannot tell you which evidence to send or whether USCIS will accept it.
What the USCIS page says
The page Tips for Filing Forms Online gives the same evidence tips twice: for forms you fill out online step by step, and for filing by PDF upload, where you upload a completed form as a PDF.
- File size
- "Files must not be larger than 12MB."
- File types
- PDF, JPG or JPEG in general. Some forms also take TIF or TIFF.
- Passwords
- Not allowed: "Do not encrypt or password-protect your files."
- Readability
- "Make sure each image you attach is clear and that all text is readable."
- Number of files
- The page gives no limit for evidence. The fee waiver step of PDF filing says "You can upload as many files as you need."
- File names
- The page has no rules about them.
Where the 6 MB figure comes from
Older copies of the same page in the Internet Archive say "Files must not be larger than 6MB in size." Copies from July 2020 to April 2022 have that line. The June 2022 copy, reviewed June 13, 2022, says 12MB, and so does every later copy we checked. Guides written before mid 2022 can still repeat 6 MB. Until a revision on October 7, 2026, the page said "Files must be in one of these formats" where it now says "generally".
Why we use 11,500 KB
USCIS does not say whether 12 MB means 12,000,000 bytes or 12,582,912 bytes. Our tools count 1 KB as 1,000 bytes, so an 11,500 KB file is 11,500,000 bytes and fits under either reading. This is our arithmetic, not a USCIS figure.
Shrink a file only when it is over 12 MB
If your file is under the limit and in an accepted format, upload it as it is. The tools below make files smaller by lowering image quality or resolution, and USCIS asks for all text to be readable.
When a file does not fit
- Phone photos or scans of a paper document go into images to PDF under 11,500 KB. It takes JPG, PNG and WebP, keeps your page order, and lowers JPG quality, then resolution, only as far as the limit needs. iPhone HEIC photos are not on the USCIS list and this tool does not open them, so convert them first with HEIC to JPG.
- A single PDF over 12 MB can go through compress PDF to 11,500 KB. It redraws every page as an image at about 108 dpi or lower, so text can no longer be selected and very small print can blur. If your PDF already fits, the tool says so.
- To send several related PDFs as one file, use merge PDFs under 11,500 KB. If the joined file fits, its pages stay as they were; if not, every page becomes an image.
- Open the result and read every page at normal zoom. If small print is hard to read, do not send that version; rescanning with smaller file settings on your scanner is another way under the limit.
Use the tools on evidence, not on the form
When you file by PDF upload, the form itself is a PDF. If you file for yourself, USCIS looks for a wet ink signature and otherwise asks you to sign digitally; if an attorney or accredited representative files for you, you must sign in wet ink. Our PDF tools redraw pages as images when they shrink a file, and we have not tested how USCIS reads a signature on a redrawn page. We would use them on evidence only and upload the form PDF as you prepared it. The USCIS page does not mention compressing the form.
Password-protected files
USCIS will not take an encrypted or password-protected file, and our PDF tools can neither open one nor remove the password. Save a copy without protection in your PDF reader, check that it opens with no password, and upload that copy.
Questions
Does USCIS take PNG or HEIC files?
Neither appears on the tips page. Putting PNG images into a PDF with images to PDF, or turning HEIC photos into JPG with HEIC to JPG, gives you a type that is on the list.
Can I upload TIFF scans?
Only for some forms, and the page does not say which. Our tools do not open TIFF files, so if in doubt, save the scan as PDF or JPG.
Are my documents sent to Deftfile?
No. The tools fetch open-source libraries from cdnjs, then build and shrink files on your own device. Your documents are not sent anywhere. USCIS has not reviewed or approved Deftfile; our privacy page has the details.
Limits of this guide
This page covers file size, file type and passwords for evidence uploaded through a USCIS online account, as written on November 1, 2026. It does not cover which evidence your form needs. If your upload screen shows a different limit from the one here, follow the screen.