Effective April 2, 2025, all documents issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will identify individuals as either male or female. Previously, USCIS-issued documents also listed “X” as a gender.
This policy change is a direct response to President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20, 2025, executive order (EO) vowing to “defend women’s rights and protect freedom of conscience by using clear and accurate language and policies that recognize women are biologically female, and men are biologically male.” In this EO, Trump called for the secretary of homeland security to issue identification documents reflecting the holder’s sex as either male or female only.
In addition to eliminating the term “gender” from its Policy Manual, USCIS clarifies that, for purposes of reviewing immigration applications and issuing documents, it will look to the individual’s birth certificate at or near their time of birth to determine their sex. It may also rely on documents other than the birth certificate (secondary evidence) if:
- The applicant is missing their birth certificate;
- The birth certificate provided lists a sex other than male or female; or
- The sex the individual chooses on the application is different from the one listed on their birth certificate, and it is more appropriate to use secondary evidence than the birth certificate.
USCIS clarifies it will not leave the sex field of a document blank. While an immigration benefit may not be denied solely for failure to select male or female on an application, USCIS encourages individuals to make a selection to avoid application-processing delays because of this omission. The agency intends to notify applicants when it issues a document listing a sex the applicant did not select, but it has not addressed the possibility of challenging this determination.
Jackson Lewis attorneys are available to assist in developing strategies to deal with changes in U.S. immigration.