Washington, DC [US], August 5 (ANI): The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its immigration policy to restrict visa eligibility for transgender women seeking to compete in women’s sports.
The move aligns with Executive Order 14201, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which directs the Department of Homeland Security to develop policies preventing male athletes from entering the United States to compete in women’s sports.
“USCIS has clarified eligibility for certain visa categories—O-1A aliens of extraordinary ability, E11 aliens of extraordinary ability, E21 aliens of exceptional ability, and national interest waivers (NIWs)—to guarantee an even playing field for all women’s athletics in the United States,” the statement said.
“Men do not belong in women’s sports. USCIS is closing the loophole for foreign male athletes whose only chance at winning elite sports is to change their gender identity and leverage their biological advantages against women,” said USCIS Spokesperson Matthew Tragesser.
“It’s a matter of safety, fairness, respect, and truth that only female athletes receive a visa to come to the US to participate in women’s sports. The Trump Administration is standing up for the silent majority who’ve long been victims of leftist policies that defy common sense,” he added.
The agency further noted it will “affirmatively protect all-female athletic opportunities by granting certain athlete-related petitions and applications—previously abused and offered to men—only to women, ensuring that male aliens seeking immigration benefits aren’t coming to the US to participate in women’s sports.”
The policy update specifies that USCIS will consider it a negative factor if a male athlete has been competing against women when determining eligibility for elite visa categories. The agency stated that it does not consider a male athlete who has gained acclaim in men’s sports and seeks to compete in women’s sports in the United States to be continuing work in his area of extraordinary ability. Furthermore, male athletes seeking entry to compete in women’s sports do not substantially benefit the United States. USCIS concluded that it is not in the national interest to waive the job offer or labor certification requirement for male athletes whose proposed endeavor is to compete in women’s sports.
The USCIS Policy Manual update is effective immediately and applies to all pending and future benefit requests filed on or after the publication date. It is now the controlling guidance and supersedes all prior related policies.
President Trump signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order in February, aiming to protect opportunities for women and girls to compete in safe and fair sports.
“It is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy. It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth,” the White House stated. (ANI)
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