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The State Department froze passport applications requesting gender identity changes or the nonbinary “X” sex marker. IleShadow2/X

The State Department froze passport applications requesting gender identity changes or the nonbinary "X" sex marker after Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the move under an executive order signed on President Trump's first day back in office.

"The policy of the United States is that an individual's sex is not changeable," Rubio said in an internal email to staff on Thursday, obtained by The Guardian. The directive explicitly states sex, not gender, is to be used in official documentation, including passports and consular birth records.

Per the new guidelines, staff must "suspend any application requesting an X sex marker" and halt processing for applicants seeking to change their sex marker under the executive order's definition. The policy impacts both current and future passport applications​.

The order, titled "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," mandates all federal identification documents reflect "an individual's immutable biological classification as either male or female."

While existing passports with an "X" designation remain valid, renewal options are expected to face complications per NOTUS. Guidance on handling such cases will be provided through other channels, according to Rubio's email​.

The "X" marker was first introduced in April 2022 as part of a move toward inclusivity. 1.4% of the nonbinary LGBTQ population, or approximately 16,700 individuals, request passports with X gender markers annually, as reported by UCLA School of Law Williams Institute.

"Inaccurate IDs have been associated with discrimination and harassment, and possession of inaccurate IDs has been associated with higher rates of psychological distress among transgender adults," UCLA School of Law Williams Institute said.

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