Check before you rely on this site. The names of current officials here were last checked on October 5, 2026, which is more than six months ago. Confirm them on the USCIS test updates page.
Uploading your documents
If you file your N-400 online, you upload copies of your documents instead of mailing them. Here is what USCIS accepts, and how to get photos from your phone into the right format.
What USCIS accepts
- PDF or JPG files. JPG is sometimes written JPEG. Some forms also accept TIF or TIFF.
- 12 MB or smaller for each file.
- Clear and readable. You can scan a document or photograph it, as long as all the text can be read.
- No password. Do not lock or encrypt your files.
- Documents in another language need the original, a full English translation, and the translator’s certification that the translation is complete and accurate.
Files in other formats have to be changed first. The most common are HEIC, the format iPhones save photos in, and PNG, the format of most screenshots.
Photographing a document
- Lay the page flat in good light. Avoid shadows and the glare of the flash.
- Hold the phone straight above the page, so the page fills the photo and is not slanted.
- Take one photo per page. Include the back of any document that has writing or stamps on it, such as your green card.
- Zoom in on each photo and check that every word can be read.
Your phone can also scan a document for you, which straightens the page and saves it as a PDF. On an iPhone, open the Files app, tap the ⋯ button and choose Scan Documents. On Android, open the Google Drive app, tap + and choose Scan.
iPhone photos in HEIC format
iPhones save photos as HEIC files, which USCIS does not accept. When you upload straight from your iPhone’s photo library, the iPhone often sends a JPG copy, so nothing needs to change. HEIC files usually cause trouble once the photos have been copied to a computer, where they show up as files ending in .HEIC.
- To turn them into JPG files, use HEIC to JPG.
- To put the pages of one document into a single PDF, use HEIC to PDF.
To make your iPhone save new photos as JPG, open Settings, then Camera, then Formats, and choose Most Compatible.
One PDF for a document with several pages
Keep the pages of one document, such as a court record or a tax transcript, together in one PDF, in order. To put JPG photos or PNG screenshots into one PDF, use JPG to PDF. For iPhone HEIC photos, use HEIC to PDF.
If a file is bigger than 12 MB
A full-size phone photo is often several MB, so a PDF of a few pages can go over the limit. Make the photos smaller first, for example with Compress Image to 1MB, then put them into a PDF. Check again that every word can still be read.
The FileMoxie tools linked on this page are made by the same person who runs this site. They are free and work inside your browser, so your files never leave your device.
Source: USCIS, Tips for Filing Forms Online, checked in October 2026.