US immigration starts offering ‘third gender’ option on citizenship form

Immigrants to the United States can now decide that they are not a woman or a man, but an unspecified third gender when applying for citizenship.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has revised its N-400 naturalization application form to offer applicants the option to select “an alternate gender identity” labeled “X,” it announced Monday.

“Historically, USCIS forms and associated documents only offered two gender options, “Male (M) and Female (F). “This has created significant barriers for applicants who do not identify with any of these options,” immigration officials said in a press release.

“Limiting benefit applicants to two gender options also creates administrative challenges for USCIS when we receive birth certificates or other official government-issued documents with a gender other than M or F.”

The government claimed that by adding the third gender option, officials can ensure that identity documents and biographical data are accurate.

They noted that the decision to revise the form is consistent with the position of the federal government and some state governments, as well as “efforts to eliminate barriers in the immigration system and reduce excessive burdens related to immigration. ‘access to immigration benefits’.