US Immigration Form Adds New Gender Option

The recent addition of a third gender option on United States immigration applications sparked a new wave of criticism for the Biden administration.

The updated application, available on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website, as of Monday evening lists male, female and "another gender identity" as options on the form.

While an archived web search by Newsweek shows that only male and female were available as choices on March 29, USCIS confirmed in a statement to Newsweek that the application is newly updated.

"On April 1, 2024, USCIS published a new edition of Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, which is the first USCIS form to include a third gender option, 'X', defined as 'Another Gender Identity,'" USCIS said in an email to Newsweek. "The X gender option is not currently available on any other forms."

The agency also noted that the "change supports USCIS' commitment to making naturalization accessible to all those who are eligible and, more generally, reducing any barriers to obtaining immigration benefits."

The inclusion of the third gender option caused a stir on X, formerly Twitter, after an image of the application was shared on the platform by right-wing account EndWokeness, which has more than 2.4 million followers and states in its bio: "Fighting, exposing, and mocking wokeness."

EndWokeness posted: "U.S. Citizenship Services just introduced a third gender to its immigration forms."

The X post amassed hundreds of comments, where critics slammed the Biden administration's "woke" immigration policies.

President Joe Biden and administration officials have been facing backlash over what critics have called pro-LGBTQ+ policies. The scrutiny escalated over the weekend after the president shared posts on social media celebrating Transgender Day of Visibility, which fell on Easter this year.

Critics specifically took issue with Biden's message on X posted on Easter Sunday, which read: "Today, on Transgender Day of Visibility, I have a simple message to all trans Americans: I see you. You are made in the image of God, and you're worthy of respect and dignity."

The social media post and its preceding announcement on Friday were met with swift condemnation.

The president of Log Cabin Republicans, which states on its website is the "nation's original and largest organization representing LGBT conservatives and straight allies," decried the Transgender Day post as disrespectful in a statement to Newsweek on Sunday.

Former President Donald Trump's national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, called it "appalling and insulting" that Biden "formally proclaimed Easter Sunday as 'Trans Day of Visibility'" in a statement on Saturday. Leavitt said the president's announcement is an example of his administration's "years-long assault on the Christian faith."

Newsweek reached out via email to Biden's representatives for comment.

Biden, who is a Catholic, has championed LGBTQ+ rights while in office, which he highlighted in his Transgender Visibility Day announcement last week.

"I am proud to have appointed transgender leaders to my Administration and to have ended the ban on transgender Americans serving openly in our military," the president wrote. "I am proud to have signed historic Executive Orders that strengthen civil rights protections in housing, employment, health care, education, the justice system, and more. I am proud to have signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law, ensuring that every American can marry the person they love."

However, Biden said "there is much more to do" and urged Congress to pass the Equality Act, which would "codify civil rights protections for all LGBTQI+ Americans."

Biden also condemned anti-trans youth laws proposed by "extremists" and bullying and discrimination of transgender people, calling it "un-American" and demanding that it "must end."

In 2023, more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in state legislatures across the country, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).