'I feel like I’m stuck here': Trans, nonbinary Americans' passports remain in limbo

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It's been almost eight weeks since Texas-based Patrick sent in his passport application. There has been no word on whether it'll be approved or not. Meanwhile, some of his most vital documents are being held by the government.

He and his wife married in 2022, and both applied for new passports so they could finally take the honeymoon they postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While his wife's passport was approved in about a week, Patrick received a letter that his application was put on hold.

Sent in with his application – which he double-checked and had proofread by friends – was his birth certificate and gender change court order that stated his identity as male. "It's exhausting. I'm disappointed. I'm frustrated," he told Paste BN. Some sources are identified by first name only out of safety and privacy concerns.

Among President Donald Trump's wave of executive orders when he assumed office was for the federal government to "recognize only two sexes, male and female," and that "these sexes are not changeable." Government agencies, including the Department of State, are enforcing the policy for all government-issued identification documents like visas, passports, and Global Entry cards.

Trump order recognizes only two sexes: Advocates call it 'cruel,' 'lawless.'

Not only does this put Patrick's honeymoon on indefinite hold, but it also generates doubts and fear. "In the event I need to seek asylum somewhere, I can’t leave the country," he said. "I feel like I’m stuck here."

Patrick is one of many transgender, nonbinary and intersex Americans facing uncertainty not only about the status of their passports under the new policy but also about the broader implications this administration may have on their rights and futures.

"If our gender markers don’t match who we are, then it’s going to cause us problems, from housing from renting cars to renting hotel rooms to buying cars to buying houses, everything, you name it," said Mikaela, a transgender woman in Texas whose passport also has yet to be approved after several weeks. "There's so much more to it in every element that people just don't think about."

What does the new policy mean for passports?

"In line with that Order, the Department’s issuance of U.S. passports will reflect the individual’s biological sex as defined in the Executive Order," a State Department spokesperson told Paste BN in an email. It has suspended the processing and issuing of all applications "seeking a different sex marker than that defined by the terms in the Executive Order," including those requesting a binary gender change or the "X" gender marker.

Since Transgender Day of Visibility in 2022, this third gender option – which has a long worldwide history across cultures – has been available for those who neither identify as male nor female. Previously, applicants were able to self-select male, female, or the "X" gender marker during the application process without having to provide medical documentation – which also removed the barrier for those whose birth certificates don't align with their gender identity.

"I can almost say with a certainty that this will not go unchallenged by LGBTQ+ advocates," said Carl Charles, senior attorney at LGBTQ+-focused civil rights organization Lambda Legal.

What happens to those who already applied for a passport?

"I think folks should think very carefully about sending in an application at this point if they are in the category of requesting an 'X' gender marker or binary gender change," Charles added.

With applications suspended, many people have said their important documents, including old passports, are still in the hands of the passport offices. It's unknown whether their documents will be returned, and for now, they can't travel internationally. The State Department said updates will be posted on its website "as soon as we are able."

Charles recommends people continue to check the status of their applications online and stay connected to legal advocacy groups for any updates. "Folks are just, unfortunately, in a waiting game and in a limbo," he said. "There’s not much to do." 

"I think for everybody else who’s not trans or not nonbinary or not having to struggle with this, to remember that if it’s not affecting you, there’s a word for that and it’s privileged," Patrick said. "They’re blessed to not have to stress about such basic rights to wonder whether or not my passport or an ID document is going to go through and for the people just to maybe give us a little more grace right now as we navigate these tricky waters."

'Robbing of agency'

"There’s all kinds of related consequences to this one big action," Charles said. "And that’s to say nothing of the emotional and sort of mental health impact on something like this to trans people who comprise less than 1% of the U.S. population and, still, even though that is the case, experience really incredibly outsized numbers of discrimination of employment access to healthcare and education. This new development compounds what trans people have experienced."

The executive order marks another step in the efforts to dismantle LGBTQ+ rights. The new policy impacts the more than 2 million Americans who identify as transgender or nonbinary, according to the Human Rights Campaign, and the approximately 5.6 million residents who are born intersex.

For many transgender individuals, a passport serves as their primary form of identification, especially when other documents (in the often lengthy and challenging gender change process) are held up. The lack of a passport that reflects their new identity becomes another safety concern and barrier to essential services and travel in a country where they already frequently feel endangered.

"I know how proud quite a number of people are of the names and identities, and how dehumanizing and robbing of agency it is," said Violet, a transgender woman who had mailed in their passport application on Jan. 16, paying extra for two-day shipping, as part of changing all of her documents from male to female. As of Monday, the status of her application remains processing.

"In my mind, this isn’t about just simply holding people’s stuff up in transit," she said. "It’s not a simple transfer of administration. It's targeting specific groups and doing specific things with deliberate intentions."