Some folks wear glasses so frequently that they look like a different person when they aren’t bespectacled, so it would seem to make sense that they should be wearing eyeglasses when getting their passport photos taken. Not so, says the State Department, which is reminding people that come Nov. 1, your specs are probably not welcome in new passport pics.

“This change will help eliminate glares and shadows that can lead to delays in processing visa and passport applications,” explains an announcement on the State Department website. “Applicants may wear glasses only in rare circumstances of documented medical necessity during urgent travel.”

According to this statement from earlier in the month, the State Department had to reject more than 200,000 passport applications last year because eyeglasses made it too difficult to identify the person in the photo.

The policy change doesn’t affect existing passports and visas, only applicants sending in photos for new and replacement documents.

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