The US State Department has reportedly suspended all applications for passports with the "X" sex marker and changes to gender identity on existing passports, following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on his first day in office.

The executive order, titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” mandates that all government-issued identification documents exclusively recognize an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female. The move effectively ends the recognition of non-binary and gender-diverse identities in federal documentation.

In an internal email, as quoted by The Guardian, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is said to have instructed State Department staff to immediately implement the new policy. “The policy of the United States is that an individual’s sex is not changeable,” the email read.

Rubio reportedly further clarified in his directive that "sex, and not gender, shall be used" for official documentation, including passports and consular reports of birth abroad. As per the new guidelines, applications requesting an "X" sex marker or seeking to change their sex marker under the previous policy are to be suspended indefinitely.

The decision comes as a stark reversal of policies introduced in April 2022 under the Biden administration, which allowed the issuance of passports with a non-binary “X” option to promote inclusivity for gender-diverse individuals.

According to Rubio’s reported email, guidance regarding existing passports with the "X" marker is expected to be issued later through additional channels.

The White House told the news outlet Notus that while passports with the “X” designation remain valid for now, individuals may face complications when seeking renewals. It remains unclear how many passports have been issued under the "X" category since the policy's inception.