Quote:
Originally Posted by Berlmeister
I can't find the article now sadly, but I very recently read that secretary of state hillary clinton has compaigned succesfully and now transfolk no longer need to prove that they actually physically 'match' in any way to the sex/gender posted on their passports. meaning one doesn't have to have any kind of srs or demonstrate that one's gender matches their sexual traits from birth. now that's not written in My words but the words I can recollect from the original article.
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Hello- This is true. To obtain a passport you are not required to have surgery. You will need a letter from your doctor stating you are undergoing "treatment" for sexual reassignment. In other words, hormones. The state department does not require anything else in the letter. I recently had my passport changed. I sent them a letter from my surgeon, which they rejected, and had to go to my doctor who prescribes the T for a letter. The state Dept. has this info on their website and states that they do not beleive any government entity should require surgery of a citizen. Its made it easy to get a passport. However, when you go to change things like birth certificates or social security number they want a letter stating surgery has been performed. You also need a male birth certificate when you apply for the passport. So ultimately, you have to have some kind of surgery to get all the docs you need, including the passport.
I have found the best route to follow is birth certificate first, then passport, then SS#, and finally dirver's license. A lot of people don't know that the SS Admin has your gender on file. Driver's license offices now cross check your social security number so in most states (I live in Texas) it is best to have the SS# gender marker changed before applying for the driver's license. They started doing the driver's license, SS# cross checking either after 9/11 or the Patriot Act. A lot of people don't know this is being checked with applying for a driver's license. If you have any questions let me know. I have all docs changed now.
My birth cert is out of Kentucky and they require top surgery only to qualify and this is for MTF or FTM. If you are born in Illinois, they require both top and bottom before they will change the birth cert. So although Clinton has made these changes, which are very welcome, we are still stuck with state requirements for birth certificates and these requirements vary but they almost all require some kind of surgery. I was also told that changing gender on the SS# also varies from office to office and who processes the paperwork. My local office accepted the surgeon's letter and top surgery only. But again, this can vary. We are pretty much subject to state laws and government workers. I got lucky in some areas including the state I was born in. What we need is a federal law and one set of federal guidelines.
Rufus