FILE PHOTO: A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) naturalization ceremony in New York City, U.S., September 17, 2021. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo
(Reuters) -The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on Monday it has updated its immigration policy to restrict visa eligibility for transgender women seeking to compete in women's sports.
Under the policy update, USCIS will consider "the fact that a male athlete has been competing against women" as a negative factor when evaluating visa 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.
"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.
"It's a matter of safety, fairness, respect, and truth that only female athletes receive a visa to come to the U.S. to participate in women's sports."
The move aligns with broader efforts by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to regulate transgender participation in athletics and follows similar policies enacted at the state level across the country.
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee last month updated its policy to align with an executive order signed earlier this year by Trump barring transgender women from competing in women's sports.
Trump signed the "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" order in February, a directive that supporters said will restore fairness but critics argue infringes on the rights of a tiny minority of athletes.
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
