US State Department has instructed officials around the globe to refuse visas to transgender players seeking to visit the United States for sporting events. The directive also includes a lifetime ban on granting visas to those who are found to have misrepresented their birth sex in visa applications.
Under a Feb. 24, classified State Department cable, acquired by The Guardian, officials were directed to invoke Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, or the so-called “permanent fraud bar.” This step is unlike usual visa refusals because it bars a person for life from entering the United States, with limited possibilities of waiver.
“In situations where applicants have been suspected of making false representations of purpose of travel or sex, consular officers should determine if the misrepresentation is material enough to result in ineligibility,” reads the directive by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The decision follows an executive order issued by President Donald Trump on February 5, which barred transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. The order also directed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to deny visas to “men attempting to fraudulently enter the US while identifying as female athletes” for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has denounced the policy as an unprecedented expansion of immigration law directed at a particular identity group. ACLU senior policy counsel Sarah Mehta added that such provisions are usually used on a case-by-case basis but have never been used to exclude an entire group systematically.
The policy could also affect foreign transgender players who play in leagues like the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). The State Department has not yet commented on requests.
