United States: Government Seeks U.S. Supreme Court Stay of Court Order Blocking State Department Policy on U.S. Passports and Gender

The U.S. government is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to again allow the State Department to implement a policy that requires U.S. citizens to be issued a passport in their gender assigned at birth. In mid-June, a Massachusetts district court granted a preliminary injunction that prohibits the State Department from enforcing a U.S. passport policy that recognizes only the gender assigned to an individual at birth. The district court also certified a class of individuals who benefit from the injunction. The district court case is Orr v.  Trump, Case No. 1:25-cv-10313 (D. Mass., filed February 7, 2025). Today, the government submitted an application to the U.S. Supreme Court (USSC Docket No. 15A319) seeking a stay of the district court order so that the State Department may resume implementation of the policy during the pendency of the government's appeal.

For now, the district court order remains in place and the government is prohibited from implementing the passport gender policy.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.