New rule for immigration documents: Old photos of applicants will be rejected to stop 'identity theft'

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services has come up with a new guideline for photos required for immigration documents. The agency said it would no longer entertain old photos of the applicants, older than more than three years -- to prevent identity theft . Self-submitted photos will no longer be accepted, the agency said adding that only photos taken by the USCIS or other authorized entities will be accepted. The new measure was announced at a time the agency had been engaged in a major overhaul of the immigration system. The present rule allows the use of old photographs -- as old as 10 years. But now this has been brought down to three. This is applicable for documents which do not require new biometrics and photos. During the Covid pandemic, USCIS allowed the use of