State Department Reverses Course, Says Trans Passports Will Be Valid Until They Expire
This comes after a concerning change indicating that the state department could "invalidate" transgender passports.
In a rare moment of reassurance from an administration defined by its repeated attacks on transgender people, the State Department has updated its website to state that “all passports” held by transgender Americans will remain valid until their expiration date. The shift comes after last week’s alarming change to that same website stating that passports would remain valid “until we invalidate them under federal regulations.” Now, it appears those regulations may be slow to materialize, if they materialize at all, with the administration potentially facing legal obstacles in carrying out its plans.
The change appears in the wording of a single question in the State Department’s FAQ on passport sex markers. During the litigation that temporarily allowed transgender people to update their gender markers under the Trump administration, officials assured travelers that their passports would remain valid “until they expire.” That language was revised last week after a Supreme Court ruling overturned the lower court’s injunction, with the page then stating that passports remain valid “until we invalidate them under federal regulations.” The update aligned with a separate administration filing signaling an intent to revoke passports issued under the injunction, as well as with information provided by an internal government source familiar with the process.
That update caused immediate alarm within the transgender community, with multiple outlets including the New York Times reporting on the change. It also raised questions about how such a move would be carried out, given the legal hurdles and likely challenges. The passports most vulnerable to reversion were those issued under the lower-court injunction, which allowed some transgender people to update their documents if they signed an attestation form stating they were transgender—a process the administration tracked, potentially to make later identification easier. But for those who obtained their passports before this administration, the legal steps required to revoke those documents remain far more difficult.
On Monday, however, a new update signaled that the State Department may be backtracking on the possibility of revoking passports. Under the same FAQ question—“Is my passport still valid if I have an X marker on it, or if it lists a sex other than my sex at birth?”—the answer now reads, “All passports will remain valid for travel until their expiration date, under International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) policy.”
The change is significant, marking the first clear indication that “all passports” will remain valid until their expiration date even after the Supreme Court’s decision. If the administration adheres to this position, it could mean that passports issued through the attestation process will also remain valid. And while one source familiar with internal discussions says conversations about revoking passports issued under the injunction are still ongoing at the State Department, the source also notes there has been pushback given the considerable difficulties such a move would entail. For transgender people, the bureaucratic whiplash is unlikely to abate as the administration continues to explore ways to harm the community; nevertheless, this change will be a welcome one for many who feared for the validity of their already-held passports.
I don't trust that
The wording mentions ICAO. I wonder if they're backtracking because of the six month rule. Many countries require those entering to have passports that will be valid for at least six months. If the State Department can invalidate passports whenever it wants, then that could cause problems for all Americans traveling, not just transgender Americans.