Americans are allowed to use their self-identified gender on their U.S. passports without presenting medical documents, under a new State Department rule announced by officials on Wednesday, the last day of Pride Month.
The shift was the first step in creating gender tagging on U.S. passports and citizenship certificates for individuals who identify as non-binary, intersex, or who otherwise do not conform to gender roles. This process is complex and will take time, said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity prior to Foreign Minister Antony J. Blinken’s announcement.
In the meantime, officials said, Americans who apply for a passport and proof of citizenship abroad will no longer be required to provide a medical certificate if their stated gender does not match their other identification documents.
The move fulfills an election promise made by President Biden, who has raised concerns that transgender and non-binary people without documented evidence of their self-identified gender are at risk of denial of employment, housing and other benefits, including the right to vote.
Blinken was expected to announce that the new policy will follow other countries that have taken similar steps – including Canada, Australia, Argentina, Nepal and New Zealand – to align in part with foreign allies and partners.
Currently, the State Department requires a medical certificate stating that a passport applicant has either moved or is in the process of changing their gender on official consular documents. It was not immediately clear on Wednesday when this requirement would no longer apply.
Last month the State Department reversed another policy that had disproportionately affected LGBTQ families and granted foreign-born babies US citizenship to married couples with at least one American parent, regardless of which parent was biological with the child was related.
This policy, a victory for same-sex couples, effectively guaranteed that American and binational couples who use assisted reproductive technology to give birth abroad – such as surrogate motherhood or sperm donation – can pass citizenship on to their children.
