CBP changes procedures for airline passengers with “X” passports
CBP regulations require would-be airline passengers to identify as “F” or M”. These regulations were never changed, even when CBP was accepting “X” gender markers.
[CBP implementation guide says that only “M” and “F” are accepted in APIS data.]
The planned changes were disclosed by press release rather than by rulemaking notice in the Federal Register. Implementation has been outsourced to airlines subject to secret “Security Directives” from CBP. Neither the current nor the planned procedures comply with the law. All of this makes it difficult to predict what will happen to anyone with an “X” gender marker on their passport who tries to make reservations, buy tickets, or check in for international flights after October 12th.
But here’s what we know: