The US government has expanded the list of genders and races in official documents

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provides a third gender option on Form N-400, Application for Naturalization. “X” is defined as “Other Gender Identity.”

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Historically, USCIS forms and associated documents only offered two gender options: “Male” and “Female.” This has created significant barriers for requesters who do not identify with either of these two options.

Form N-400, dated 01.04.24/400/1, was the first USCIS Form to include an X-gender option. Applicants filing this revision of Form N-2024 on April XNUMX, XNUMX will immediately receive an additional gender option on their form.

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On the subject: The beginning of the third gender era: the first passport was issued in the USA with the indication of the gender 'X'

Applicants who have a pending Form N-400 can request to update their gender beginning April 1, 2024. For the remaining forms, people should wait until USCIS revises these forms to include the “X” gender option.

The N-400 is currently the only USCIS form that offers a third gender option. Thus, certificates of naturalization would be the only reliable identification documents that could reflect a third gender. The "X" gender option is not yet available on Form N-565.

When USCIS updates the supplemental forms to offer the “X” gender option, you can select your gender option (see how to do this here). No supporting documentation is required.

The gender selected does not have to match the gender listed on other immigration or supporting identification documents (birth certificate, passport or government ID).

Please note: If you select the "X" gender option on the new Form N-400, you may need to visit a Social Security office to obtain a Social Security card or to update your citizenship status. The Social Security Administration is developing systems to accommodate gender option “X.”

Classification by race

The US government is changing the way it classifies people by race and ethnicity, says VOANews. This, officials hope, will better count people who identify as Latino or people of Middle Eastern and North African descent.

These measures are the first such changes in official categories in 27 years. Those who support the amendments say they will, among other things, better reflect people's identities and help determine voting districts.

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Under the changes, questions about race and ethnicity that were previously asked separately will be reformatted into one. This will give people the ability to select multiple categories at once.

In addition, a Middle East and North Africa category will be created. Previously, the US government defined such people as white, but now they have the opportunity to identify themselves in a new, separate category.

These changes began in 2014 under the Obama administration but were reversed under the Trump administration and then renewed under Biden.

The reformatted race and ethnicity question will include a “Hispanic or Latino” option. Research shows that a significant portion of Latinos don't know how to answer questions about race when asked in isolation. They tend to think of race and ethnicity as similar concepts and, as a result, often choose “some other race” or refuse to answer.

Under the changes, people will have the opportunity to talk about themselves in more detail. For example, those who identify themselves as Asian may be more specific about whether they are Chinese or Vietnamese, for example.

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