Consulates around the world have been told by the Trump administration to deny visa applications from trans-identified male athletes looking to come to the US for sport competitions. These changes come as the US is set to host the Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles.
Sources who spoke to The Athletic said that two memos were sent internationally to diplomatic as well as consular officials. The cables provided instruction on the handling of visa applications to the United States.
One cable, first reported by the Guardian, instructed visa officers to apply Immigration and Nationality Act section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) against trans-identified male applicants. The directive from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio read, “In cases where applicants are suspected of misrepresenting their purpose of travel or sex, you should consider whether this misrepresentation is material such that it supports an ineligibility finding.”
That section of the Immigration and Nationality Act seeks to prevent attempts to obtain a visa by “fraud or willfully misrepresenting a material fact.” Under this section, those denied a visa on those grounds could face permanent exclusion from the US, with only limited waivers being granted.
This comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in early February barring trans-identified males from participating in women’s spots. Under the order, the Trump administration will revoke federal funding from public schools that do not obey it across the country. In addition, he has also signed an executive order on day one stating that sex is defined as male or female, and that government-issued IDs should reflect this.
Trump’s February executive order instructed the State Department to use “all appropriate and available measures” in order to ensure the Olympics only allows eligibility for sporting events to be decide “according to sex and not gender identity or testosterone reduction.”