Ashton Orr, a transgender man, received his passport with the correct gender marker after a five-month wait and a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s passport policy.

A judge expanded an injunction against the policy, enabling Orr and other impacted Americans to obtain passports reflecting their gender identity.

While the ruling is a positive step, many transgender, intersex, and nonbinary individuals are still waiting for their passports and face ongoing challenges.

It took nearly five months, a federal lawsuit, and the postponement of big international travel plans before Ashton Orr received the news he’d been waiting for: his passport finally arrived in the mail with the accurate gender marker on it.

This moment felt like a “huge relief” to the West Virginia resident, who told USA TODAY in early March he wasn’t sure he’d ever receive a passport matching his gender identity as a transgender man following the Trump administration’s January policy acknowledging just the male and female sexes, assigned at birth.

The LGBTQ+ advocate received his passport on June 12 as one of the seven plaintiffs in the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Massachusetts, and law firm Covington & Burling LLP’s lawsuit Orr v. Trump, which was brought to the courts in February. The suit alleged that the policy violates the right to travel and privacy and discriminates against LGBTQ+ people. Last Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick in Boston expanded the preliminary injunction that blocked the policy, granting passports to the plaintiffs and any impacted Americans.

Orr had applied on Jan. 16 to renew his passport with an updated gender marker for an upcoming trip to Ireland for a medical procedure to avoid any issues at airport security, which he’d experienced before since his driver’s license still listed him as female. Days later, the U.S. State Department suspended the processing and issuing of all passports seeking a binary gender change or the “X” gender marker under Trump’s policy.

Thousands of transgender, intersex and nonbinary Americans were left in limbo, unable to travel internationally, and without a critical ID document to secure jobs, housing and other opportunities. To many in the transgender community, the policy also felt like another attack by the current administration to erase them from public spaces and deny their existence.

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“When your basic right to move freely is denied, it’s a message: ‘You don’t belong here.’ It’s bigger than bureaucracy. It’s systemic erasure,” transgender drag artist and RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10 contestant Aja previously told USA TODAY. Her passport renewal was rejected despite her current passport and other documents matching her gender identity.

While the judge’s latest motion offers some relief, the battle is far from over. Many of those affected are still caught in a holding pattern, trying to figure out how to receive their passports, while others have conflicting emotions as the policy’s impact went far deeper than just not having a passport.

“I think the first time in years, I really felt like the legal system actually saw us, you know, as trans, nonbinary, intersex people as real and as deserving of dignity,” Orr said about the judge’s action.

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Can transgender, intersex and nonbinary Americans get their passports?

Legally, yes. As of June 17, the State Department is obligated to process passports requesting the “X” gender marker or a binary change and is taking immediate steps to implement the court order, said a State Department spokesperson.

However, many Americans have yet to receive accurate passports and are left in limbo. “We’re waiting on the State Department to tell us – and to tell everyone publicly – how they’re planning on processing all of these passports that need to be processed,” said Aditi Fruitwala, an ACLU senior staff attorney on the lawsuit.

The ACLU has received numerous inquiries from people who need to travel internationally urgently but don’t know if they need to resubmit a new application or fill out a form for an error correction. “From what we can tell, there are class members who are still unable to update the sex designation on their passport, which indicates that they have not implemented the court order,” she said.

Although temporary, the judge’s ruling is optimistic, according to Fruitwala. “That was sort of exciting to see, that none of (the government’s) arguments really carried any water,” she said.

The State Department told USA TODAY it does not comment on ongoing litigation.

Mixed emotions for the trans community

Despite the positive direction, the continued reality of not having a passport isn’t lost on those impacted. Patrick, who is identified by his first name only out of safety and privacy concerns, is one of those Americans stuck in uncertainty. At the end of 2024, he applied for a passport renewal as a transgender man so he and his wife could go on a long-awaited honeymoon. In March, he received his passport with his gender listed as female on it, rendering it nearly unusable.

“That’s six months with a passport that I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to use, and it puts me in danger,” he said. Not only does Patrick feel stuck in case he needs to seek asylum, but his home state of Texas recently passed a bill that bans gender marker changes on medical documents unless due to a clerical error, so any accurate ID documents are vital. He also doesn’t feel comfortable sending in his medical documents, knowing they can’t be replaced if unreturned. He also isn’t in a place to pay the fees again.

“With Texas doing what Texas is doing, it’s making it to where I won’t have any accurate IDs,” he said. “You know, if Texas reverts my driver’s license, will I ever be able to get a passport that reflects my gender identity? Because then it’ll say F on there.”

Knowing so many others in his community are experiencing what Patrick is going through, Orr said he feels conflicted between guilt and gratitude. “I am very eager and just very thankful that I have this privilege to be able to finally leave and get the medical care that I need, when there are still so many that, you know, are navigating the system and this latest order,” he said. His trip to Ireland is back on and coming up soon.

After everything, Orr admits he’s worried about returning to the U.S. borders. “I don’t think anybody wants to make a plan for what if I’m detained, what if I’m denied entry into a country where I’m a citizen?” he said. “No one wants to have to make those plans. But again, that is the unfortunate reality of trans travelers right now.”

Fruitwala said it’s a reasonable fear and common question for the transgender, nonbinary, and intersex community since the policy went into effect, even though valid passports are technically usable. Although it would be considered harassment to be denied entry back into the U.S., it’s a good idea for travelers to write down the names of civil rights advocates and attorneys, plus to educate themselves on their rights at the border.

“Again, I’m refusing to allow this country to continue to dictate my operations,” he said. “You know, I am a citizen. I have rights just as everyone else, and I’m going to travel.”