Recent changes in laws will affect travelers who are applying for passports. There is a lot of confusion about the change in laws and their impact on both current and future passport applications. Here are some of the facts as we understand them now.
What was the norm
As of April 2022, people applying for US passport had the option of Male, Female, and “X” (unspecified or another gender identity) for the gender on the applications and passports. The current application (as of 9:30 1/29/25) still has the same language on the application. However, according to a recent executive order, applications that select “X” will be handled differently.
Changes about Genders
With the new laws, there are now only two genders – male and female. And those have to be the ones on the birth certificate at birth. Even though birth certificates can be amended in most states, the sexes as far as passports, are not changeable. For those who selected male or female as there gender, there should be no issues.
Current Applications
The state department has issued the following statement: “The State Department has suspended processing passport applications seeking the gender marker of “X” and will only process and issue passports for people identifying as male or female.”
The implication for people who currently have the gender marker “X” on their passport is not clear at this point. Guidance for these passports is supposed to be issued in the future.
Change in Terms
In another release from the White House on Monday, “ . . . sex is an individual’s immutable biological classification.” The result of this is that the term “gender” will be replaced by “sex”.
Finally thoughts
There will be many changes over the next several months and years. To ensure less stressful trips, travelers would be well advised to keep up on the current requirements for documents, both in this country and others as the United States’ relation with countries may change.