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2d ago

USCIS Bars Transgender Women From Elite Sports Visas

It closes a loophole for male-born athletes seeking to compete in U.S. women's sports on extraordinary ability or national interest visas.

U.S. President Donald Trump is joined by female athletes as he signs the “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order in the East Room at the White House on February 5, 2025 in Washington, DC.
The Tennessean
President Trump signed the executive order, called “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports”. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • USCIS guidance effective August 4 treats prior competition against women by male-born athletes as a negative factor in O-1A, EB-1, EB-2 and NIW visa assessments.
  • The policy enforces President Trump’s February executive order by embedding the transgender sports ban into federal immigration rules.
  • Guidance takes effect immediately for all pending and new applications, overriding any previous USCIS policy manual provisions.
  • The visa restrictions mirror recent USOPC and NCAA rulings that prohibit transgender women from competing in female sports divisions.
  • Advocates are preparing constitutional and human-rights legal challenges and warn the move could sideline transgender athletes targeting the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.