USCIS New N-400 Form Allows Naturalization Applicants to Select 'Other' Gender

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a new version of Form N-400 on April 1. If you plan to naturalize and become a U.S. citizen, you can now select "Other" as your gender in addition to "Male/Female." Although this news was released on April 1, it is not an April Fool's joke; you can view the new N-400 form on the USCIS website.

Moreover, according to the USCIS announcement, selecting "Other" gender does not require any evidence or supporting documents, nor does it need to match other documents. For example, even if your birth certificate, passport, or ID card shows female or male, you can still choose "Other" gender now. However, among all USCIS forms, only the naturalization Form N-400 currently offers the "Other" gender option; other forms have not yet introduced this option.

Many people might think the U.S. government is overreaching with this move, but in fact, this change has a traceable history and could even be seen as a natural progression. Since 2021, the United States has allowed "Other" gender on passports. After naturalizing and becoming citizens, many people's first action is to renew their passports; since passports can have an "Other" gender option, it is only natural that naturalization should offer this option as well.

The origin of this matter can be traced back to veteran Dana Zzyym, whose birth certificate lists male and driver's license lists female, and who identifies as neither male nor female. After being denied a non-binary gender passport, Dana sued the State Department in 2015. After years of legal battles, in 2018 the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado ruled that the State Department had acted unlawfully. In 2021, the State Department issued Dana the first U.S. passport with a non-binary gender marker, with "X" in the gender field.