Many of you might have already heard about significant changes in travel to the United States now that Donald Trump is making alterations to the status quo.
Just this week, Trump returned to the Oval Office and swiftly signed a roster of over 200 executive orders. Among these, one stands out, titled ‘Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government’.
The crux of this particular order is that it mandates the US to officially acknowledge only two genders: male and female. According to the order, “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”
One of the direct effects of this order is on the US passport application process. People applying for a passport will now only have the option to select male or female for their gender, dismissing the ‘X’ gender marker that was previously available under the Biden Administration for non-binary citizens.
These changes imply that all applications requesting a non-binary ‘X’ gender marker are currently suspended, and future applications of this nature will not be considered.
There is some concern among non-binary and intersex Americans regarding the future validity of existing passports with the ‘X’ marker. Currently, these passports remain valid, but complications may arise during renewals.
The State Department’s National Passport Information Center suggests those with questions to remain patient as new guidance will be issued shortly.
While this decision has undoubtedly stirred feelings within the LGBTQ+ community, it is anticipated that the overall impact on domestic travel in the US will not be substantial.
Approximately 16,700 non-binary LGBTQ+ individuals request passports with the ‘X’ gender marker annually, representing around 1.4% of the country’s population as noted by recent reports.
In another significant move, President Trump is also expected to revive his infamous ‘travel ban’. This measure aims to restrict individuals from specific regions of the world from entering the United States.
Addressing recent crowds, President Trump mentioned, “We will bring back the travel ban – you remember the famous travel ban. We didn’t take people from certain areas of the world because I didn’t want to have people ripping down and burning our shopping centres and killing people.”
This stance raises concerns about potential impacts on the number of visitors to America. In 2023, about 66.5 million people arrived in the US, a figure likely to shift following these new travel restrictions.
If you find yourself affected by these changes and wish to talk to someone confidentially, you can contact the LGBT national hotline at 888-843-4564. The line is operational Monday to Friday from 4 pm to midnight ET and on Saturdays from noon to 5 pm ET.
