The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has revised its immigration policy to restrict visa eligibility for transgender women seeking to compete in women’s sports, aligning with Executive Order 14201, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”
Under the updated policy, certain visa categories—including O-1A (individuals with extraordinary ability), E11 (priority workers), E21 (professionals with exceptional ability), and national interest waivers (NIWs)—will now explicitly exclude biological males intending to compete in women’s athletic categories.
“Men do not belong in women’s sports,” said USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser. “This update ensures fairness, safety, and truth by denying visas to foreign male athletes who change their gender identity to gain an advantage in women’s competitions. Only biological female athletes will be granted visas for women’s sporting events in the US.”
USCIS emphasized that this move closes a loophole that allegedly allowed biologically male athletes to exploit gender identity policies to gain entry into elite female sports categories. According to the new policy, any past participation of a male athlete in women’s competitions will now be treated as a negative factor in visa evaluations.
The statement further clarified that male athletes seeking to compete in women’s events are not considered to be continuing work in their area of “extraordinary ability,” and their presence is not deemed to serve the national interest. As a result, they will not qualify for waivers or labor certification exemptions.
The new policy comes into effect immediately and will apply to all pending and future applications, superseding previous guidance.
The announcement follows former President Donald Trump’s executive order signed in February 2025, which directs the federal government to protect the integrity of women’s sports and revoke funding from educational institutions that allow biological males to compete in women’s categories.
“The United States will not support policies that endanger, humiliate, or silence women and girls,” the White House noted. “This is a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”
