The U.S. government expects to update procedures and blanks by the beginning of 2022, after which each applicant for a passport will have the opportunity to choose “male,” “female” or “X” as gender.
The U.S. authorities issued the first passport, where the “gender” column indicates not “male” or “female” but “X.” The press service of the Department of State reported this on Wednesday.
This summer, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the intention of the U.S. authorities to allow applicants for passports or consular certificates of birth abroad (CRBA) to independently choose what to indicate in the “gender” column. As Blinken noted at the time, “medical confirmation will no longer be required if the choice of gender” does not match the data in other identity documents. Persons who do not consider themselves to be either male or female gender will be able to indicate in the appropriate column “X.”
“The Department of State continues the process of updating its policy regarding gender markers in American passports and consular birth documents abroad in order to better serve all U.S. citizens, regardless of their gender identity. <…> The Department of State issued the first passport marked “X” in the “gender” column,” the U.S. Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The U.S. government expects to update the relevant procedures and forms by the beginning of 2022, after which each applicant for a passport or CRBA will have the opportunity to choose “male,” “female” or “X” as gender.
