Immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship can now identify as gender “X” on a key form, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Monday.
Immigrants who previously filled out the U.S. Citizenship Immigration Services (USCIS) Form N-400, which begins the naturalization process, could choose to identify as either male or female, as is standard practice with the agency’s current documentation. The new “third gender option” represents a broader effort by the Biden administration to implement LGBTQ initiatives into federal policies, such as funding LGBTQ-friendly programs with taxpayer money and creating stronger protections for LGBTQ individuals.
Only allowing applicants to identify as male or female has “created significant barriers for requestors who do not identify with either of those options,” the agency said on Monday. (RELATED: Biden Proclaims Easter Sunday To Be ‘Transgender Day Of Visibility’)
USCIS is introducing a third gender option, “X,” defined as “Another Gender Identity”. Today we published a new edition of Form N-400, the first form to include the X gender option. This option will become available on additional forms as we revise them. https://t.co/gEpcTO7SP1
— USCIS (@USCIS) April 1, 2024
“Adding a third gender option helps ensure that secure identity documents and biographical data are accurate and helps both external stakeholders and individuals requesting immigration benefits,” USCIS said, claiming the new policy is consistent with “federal and state agencies that have adopted a third gender option,” including the State Department, which recently allowed passport applicants to also identify as gender “X.”
Immigrants who fill out the N-400 under gender “X” will not need to provide relevant documentation to do so, according to the USCIS. Migrants filling out the N-400 can identify as any gender they wish, even if their gender is listed differently on other official documentation, such as a “birth certificate, passport, or state identification.”
The policy update comes one day after the Biden administration’s celebration of the “Transgender Day of Visibility,” which President Joe Biden proclaimed two days prior would take place on the same day as Easter in 2024. Biden put out a statement commemorating Easter, but religious symbolism has been banned from the annual White House Easter Egg Roll for decades.
DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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