Explaining the new U.S. visa restrictions on trans travellers

ANALYSIS: If you’re a Canadian travelling to the U.S. for a vacation, should you worry? What about trans athletes?

This week, a new memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding visas for trans people trying to enter the United States has caused alarm on social media as to how far it could be enforced. 

The memo, which specifically targets trans athletes coming to compete in the U.S., instructed U.S. visa officers to investigate anyone for fraud who might be “misrepresenting their sex” and possibly bar them from entering the U.S. permanently. 

Senior editor Mel Woods breaks down what you need to worry about—and if you need to worry at all—if you are a trans person looking to travel to the U.S. 

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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