No Items in Cart 
Earlier this month, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced updates to its policy manual recognizing only two biological sexes. Those sexes are male and female. Markedly, this update is consistent with President Donald Trump’s January 20th, 2025, Executive Order (EO) 14168. That EO called “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” declared that it was the policy of the United States to recognize only two sexes: male and female. Previously, back in July 2023, the USCIS released an updated Form I-9.
Overview of the Policy Manual Update
In general, under the update, the USCIS considers a person’s sex to be what is listed on the birth certificate. Chiefly, this is the certificate issued at or nearest to the time of birth. Accordingly, if the birth certificate indicates a sex other than male or female, USCIS will base the determination of sex on secondary evidence. The updated information can be found in the USCIS Manual, Volume 1, Part E.
Consequently, USCIS will not deny benefits solely because the benefit requestor did not correctly indicate his or her sex. However, the USCIS does not issue documents with a blank “sex” field. The agency also does not issue documents with a sex different than the sex noted on a birth certificate. Therefore, if an individual does not indicate one of the two biological sexes or indicates a sex other than that on their birth certificate, the result of the action being sought might be delayed. Additionally, the USCIS may contact the individual if it receives a document stating a sex that differs from the birth certificate.
As mentioned, information on the shift to recognizing two biological sexes can be found in Volume 1 of the USCIS Policy Manual. Further guidance is also available in Volumes 11 and 12. Generally, the updates to the manual were effective immediately. Specifically, the changes apply to all requests made on or after April 2nd, 2025.
Employer Takeaways
In conclusion, all employers that supply documentation created by the USCIS should be aware of this latest development. Some forms may ask the person to select one of the two biological sexes, while some, like the Form I-9, do not. It is important to note that, like EO 14168, this updated policy guidance has not changed any current law relating to employment discrimination. Gender identity protections are still in force under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Generally, Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It applies to most employers, including private and public employers with 15 or more employees. However, some states and local governments enforce similar laws aimed at employers with more than one employee.
To assist employers in training workers on forms of harassment and discrimination that could occur in the workplace, WorkWise Compliance created the Harassment & Discrimination Prevention Training eLearning Module for Employees. In addition to explaining harassment and discrimination, the training module describes preventing such actions and addresses ways to report complaints. For employers in California and New York, the following harassment and discrimination prevention trainings need to be utilized where appropriate:
