After warning back in January that it intended to ramp up on stricter border control policies and do away with males allegedly competing in women’s sports, the United States government is following through by restricting access to those travelling to international tournaments.
Per a New York Times report dating all the way back to February, high-ranking officials had already started instructing worldwide consular officials to deny visa applications made by transgender athletes seeking to enter the country in order to compete in sporting events “while also opening the door on lifelong blocks on visas for applicants who are judged to have ‘misrepresented’ their se.”
On Monday, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services said it has now updated its immigration policy to restrict visa eligibility for said athletes and will now consider “the fact that a male athlete has been competing against women” as a negative factor when evaluating access petitions in categories such as O-1A for extraordinary ability, EB-1 and EB-2 green cards for highly skilled workers, and national interest waivers.
“Men do not belong in women’s sports. USCIS is closing the loophole for foreign male athletes whose only chance at winning elite sports is to change their gender identity and leverage their biological advantages against women,” said USCIS Spokesperson Matthew Tragesser through a statement on the federal agency’s website. “It’s a matter of safety, fairness, respect, and truth that only female athletes receive a visa to come to the US to participate in women’s sports. The Trump Administration is standing up for the silent majority who’ve long been victims of leftist policies that defy common sense.”
Ever since taking office back again in 2025, US President Donald Trump has not shied away from making the transgender issue in sports a priority. Hence, the widespread consular directive that currently looms over athletes that could very possibly be pushed out of the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics, per the US State Department’s increased visa denials.
“USCIS will affirmatively protect all-female athletic opportunities by granting certain athlete-related petitions and applications, that had previously been abused and offered to men, only to women, ensuring that male aliens seeking immigration benefits aren’t coming to the US to participate in women’s sports,” Monday’s official statement read.
With the Conservative offensive from within the administration, institutional pushback has been anything but a given. Just last month, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee caved and updated its policy to align with Trump’s ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’ executive order, which he signed in February and is adamant on barring transgender women from competing in women’s sports.
In May, the USOPC had stepped up to state that it had received ‘significant reassurances’ from the White House regarding visas, with its President Gene Sykes embracing what he considered a FIFA 2026 World Cup goodwill sign with eyes toward the Olympic event, two years later.
“It’s very clear that, from the very top of the administration, they want this to be an incredibly successful experience for all Americans and all of the athletes and visitors who come from frankly every country in the world. They understand what it means to host the Olympic Games, so we were provided with significant reassurances about the work they’re going to do with us to manage the visa process to make this work well for athletes and their appropriate entourages,” Sykes told the press.
While USOPC has failed to stand up to Trump on the matter, transgender athletes aren’t the only ones being targeted by the Republican administration, as travellers from up to 12 countries that have been listed as a security risk for the US are facing entry denials while their athletes seek to compete in international tournaments within North American borders. Just last month, the Cacique Mara from Maracaibo, Venezuela, was barred from entering after being refused clearance, preventing them from competing in this year’s Senior League Baseball World Series, according to a statement released by Little League International.
A similar issue occurred in early July, when the Cuban women’s volleyball team was also denied access to the US for a tournament Puerto Rico.
“They told us that Venezuela is on a list because Trump says Venezuelans are a threat to the security of his state, of his country,” said Kendrick Gutiérrez, president of the Venezuelan Little League. “It hasn’t been easy the situation; we earned the right to represent Latin America in the World Championship.”
Executive orders by Trump have ranged from gender issues to stricter border control policies and have elicited criticism by those who are already issuing warning signs that the nation’s democracy is at considerable risk. As the world gears up for LA28, the US has begun penalising athletes who have nothing to do with diplomacy or national security, with Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz recently left wondering, “From now on, what will be the conduct of the country that will host the 2028 Olympic Games?” after the women’s national volleyball team’s aspirations were sidelined.
“The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Olympic Charter shall be secured without discrimination of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status,” the Olympic Movement clearly states regarding its seven fundamental principles.
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