Trump administration restricts sports visa eligibility for transgender women 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says it is updating visa policies to prevent transgender women from entering the U.S. to compete in women’s athletic events, in line with an executive order from President Trump. 

Guidance issued Monday afternoon by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) effectively bars trans women from obtaining temporary work visas to compete in women’s sports. The new policy applies to three visa categories for individuals possessing “exceptional” or “extraordinary” talent in science, art, education, business and athletics, as well as national interest waivers, which allow people outside the U.S. to self-petition for a green card if their work benefits the nation’s interests. 

The agency’s guidance, which is effective immediately, was first reported by the conservative news outlet the Daily Wire. It does not use the word “transgender,” referring to trans women only as “male athletes” seeking to compete in women’s sports. 

Matthew Tragesser, a spokesperson for USCIS, said in a statement the agency “is closing the loophole for foreign male athletes whose only chance at winning elite sports is to change their gender identity and leverage their biological advantages against women.” 

“It’s a matter of safety, fairness, respect, and truth that only female athletes receive a visa to come to the U.S. to participate in women’s sports,” Tragesser said. “The Trump Administration is standing up for the silent majority who’ve long been victims of leftist policies that defy common sense.” 

The agency’s updated guidance clarifies that, with respect to demonstrating extraordinary ability in athletics, USCIS “considers the fact that a male athlete has been competing against women as a negative factor” in determining whether they are “among the small percentage at the very top of the field.” 

The document adds that it is not in the national interest of the U.S. to waive labor certification requirements “for male athletes whose proposed endeavor is to compete in women’s sports.” 

An executive order issued by Trump in February states it is the policy of the U.S. “to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports.” The order, which Trump had pledged to sign while campaigning for the presidency, directed DHS to review visa policies “to address males falsely asserting they are females when entering the United States to compete in women’s sports.” 

An administration official told The Hill in February that visa applications from transgender athletes looking to compete in women’s sporting events in the U.S. would be reviewed “for fraud.” 

Responding to Trump’s order, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee late last month barred transgender women from competing in women’s events. A spokesperson for the organization declined to say whether the policy change will impact female athletes with differences in sex development, the eligibility of whom has emerged as a flashpoint in recent years. 

The next Summer Olympics are set to take place in Los Angeles in 2028.

At a signing ceremony for his executive order on transgender athletes in February, Trump said his administration would not allow transgender athletes to compete in the Summer Games.

“We’re just not going to let it happen,” he said. “It’s ending right now, and nobody’s going to be able to damn thing about it because when I speak, we speak with authority.”