The United States Trump administration has introduced a new immigration rule that advocates warn could expose transgender travellers and migrants to increased scrutiny, visa refusals and possible deportation.
The regulation, titled “Enhancing Vetting and Combatting Fraud in the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program,” was finalised on March 11 and requires visa applicants to disclose their “biological sex at birth”, even if it differs from the gender marker on their passport or other official documents.
While the policy was initially framed as applying to the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, often referred to as the “green card lottery,” the U.S. State Department has confirmed the requirement will apply to all visa applications.
Under the rule, immigration systems will record only sex assigned at birth and recognise just two categories, male or female. Critics say this could create bureaucratic conflicts for transgender and non-binary travellers whose legal documents reflect their gender identity.
Advocates warn that mismatches between documents and immigration records may lead to delays, visa denials or allegations of fraud during visa processing.
In some cases, such discrepancies could later surface during border inspections, asylum screenings or deportation proceedings.
The policy aligns with a broader executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump directing federal agencies to treat sex as a fixed biological classification and remove references to gender identity from government policies.
The policy follows earlier controversies involving gender markers on passports issued to transgender public figures, including Drag Race alumni Aja and Adore Delano as well as Euphoria star Hunter Schafer.
The Trump administration has made a series of legislative and policy changes targeting the transgender community since the re-election of Donald Trump. This has also included bans on gender affirming care, labelling trans people as “violent extremists,” and erasing trans and bisexual people from the Stonewall memorial.
Legal experts say the new rule may also allow immigration authorities, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to use recorded information to scrutinise transgender migrants more closely.
Sean Ebony Coleman, founder and CEO of LGBTQ+ organisation Destination Tomorrow, criticised the measure in a statement to The Advocate.
“The Trump administration’s new rule allowing DHS and ICE to scrutinize and potentially deny visas and immigration benefits to people based on perceived ‘gender identity fraud’ is the administration’s latest political attack on America’s transgender community,” Coleman said.
“While framed as an immigration measure, this rule builds on the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict recognition of gender identity and limit access to personal government documents,” Coleman said. “Policies like this create harm and open the door to profiling, harassment, and discrimination against transgender people, including U.S. citizens.”
Destination Tomorrow, founded in the Bronx, provides housing, health services, workforce support and community programmes for LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender and gender-nonconforming communities.
Coleman added that the impact of such policies extends beyond immigration paperwork.
“Transgender people deserve to live openly and safely without government actions that turn identity into a reason for suspicion, exclusion, or unequal treatment under the law,” Coleman said.
Immigration lawyers have also raised concerns that LGBTQ+ asylum seekers fleeing countries where homosexuality is criminalised could face additional risks if discrepancies in their documents trigger investigations during the visa process.
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