Trump’s ban on passport gender marker changes is on hold—for now

ANALYSIS: A temporary window has opened for trans Americans to get documents that accurately match their gender identity.

If you’re trans, living in the U.S. and need to update your passport—the time to do so is now.

Back in January, President Trump issued an executive order that banned the issuing of passports with gender markers that don’t match one’s sex assigned at birth, resulting in many trans Americans receiving inaccurate passports.

In response, the ACLU filed Orr v. Trump, a federal lawsuit that called the policy unconstitutional. The U.S. District Court of Massachusetts has since issued a preliminary injunction to halt the order from taking effect while litigation is pending, and the State Department is now complying.

There is now a window of opportunity for trans people to get accurate documents that match their gender identity, but it’s unclear how long it will last. We break down the official guidance and what steps you need to take if you want to update or renew your passport.

Cody Corrall is Xtra's Social Video Producer. Their work has appeared in BuzzFeed News, TechCrunch, the Chicago Reader, CINE-FILE, Thrillist, Paste Magazine, and other places on the world wide web. He lives in Chicago and speaks English.

Senior editor Mel Woods is an English-speaking Vancouver-based writer, editor and audio producer and a former associate editor with HuffPost Canada. A proud prairie queer and ranch dressing expert, their work has also appeared in Vice, Slate, the Tyee, the CBC, the Globe and Mail and the Walrus.

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