Equality Australia has issued a travel alert for the US on 27 March, highlighting instances of travellers experiencing difficulties entering the US due to their gender.
Those who hold a passport with a gender X marker, have “gender markers in your identity document that do not match your gender expression” or “have a track record of LGBTIQ+ activism or other political activity” may be at “serious risk”, regardless of whether you are travelling for tourism purposes or moving to the US.
The document continues to outline key risks relating to admission to the US for LGBTIQ+ people, including denial of entry, mistreatment (deliberate misgendering, targeted questioning, humiliating treatment and invasive searches of trans travellers), and arbitrary detention with limited legal recourse.
Earlier in February, the US State Department suspended the processing of passports for applicants who selected ‘X’ as their preferred gender, and removed ‘TQ’ (which stands for trans and queer) from ‘LGB’ (lesbian, gay and bisexual) on its official travel website.
Those who are trying to apply for a US visa or ESTA (electronic system for travel authorisation) may face refusal or permanent ineligibility to travel to the US. Valid foreign passports with an X gender marker and a valid visa may continue to be admitted, but are still subject to inspection at the port of entry. However, Equality Australia is concerned that no instructions for Customs and Border Protection Officers (CBP) have been issued, which is a separate agency to the State Department responsible for visas, meaning that those who have valid documents can still be denied entry.
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General advice includes to familiarise yourself with your rights, travel with someone else, remove LGBTIQ+ content from your devices and make sure another trusted contact has a copy of your itinerary and is reachable.
Find the full United States Travel Alert by Equality Australia.
