President Joe Biden’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced Monday that the administration had added “Another Gender Identity” as a “third gender option” designated as “X” on the naturalization application form for immigrants.
In a statement shared Monday on X, formerly Twitter, the USCIS announced, “USCIS is introducing a third gender option, ‘X,’ defined as ‘Another Gender Identity.'”
In a press release by the USCIS, the agency noted that the naturalization application form, labeled “Form N-400” had been updated to include “Another Gender Identity” as an option.
“Today we published a new edition of Form N-400, the first form to include the X gender option,” the agency wrote. “This option will become available on additional forms as we revise them.”
The USCIS announcement also included an official policy change. The policy change claimed that limiting the naturalization documents to only two gender options created “significant barriers” for individuals who do not identify as male or female.
“The lack of an additional gender option on USCIS forms and secure documents for use by benefit requestors who do not identify with either male or female option creates significant barriers for those requestors,” the USCIS said. “Limiting benefit requestors to binary gender options also creates administrative challenges for USCIS, where benefit requestors submit birth certificates and other official government-issued documents with a gender other than ‘M’ or ‘F.'”
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The USCIS explained that immigrant applicants will not need to “provide supporting documentation” to select the third gender option. Additionally, the gender designated by the applicant on the naturalization paperwork will not be required to match the gender marked on an individual’s state identification, passport, or birth certificate.
“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,” the USCIS stated. “It is also consistent with federal and state agencies that have adopted a third gender option, such as the U.S. Department of State’s expanded passport services to offer gender X in their application.”
According to The Post Millennial, Monday’s policy change by the USCIS follows a previous announcement the Biden administration made in 2021, which indicated that the administration would prioritize transgender immigrants who wanted to come to the United States.
