United States | USCIS clarifies eligibility for female athletes in certain visa categories

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it has issued new guidance to prevent male nonimmigrants from receiving immigration benefits that would allow them to compete in women’s sports in the U.S.

Key Points:

• The policy update aligns with Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which directs the Department of Homeland Security to block male athletes from entering the U.S. to compete in female athletic categories.
• USCIS will now restrict athlete-related petitions to female applicants only, reinforcing the administration’s stance on biological sex in sports.
• The guidance revises eligibility standards for several visa categories, including O-1A, E11, E21 and national interest waivers.
• Male athletes who have competed against women or seek to do so in the U.S. will not be considered as continuing work in their field of expertise. The agency also asserts that “male athletes seeking to enter the country to compete in women’s sports do not substantially benefit the United States; and it is not in the national interest to the United States to waive the job offer and, thus, the labor certification requirement for male athletes whose proposed endeavor is to compete in women’s sports.”
• The updated guidance, now part of Volumes 2 and 6 of the USCIS Policy Manual, is effective immediately and supersedes any prior related instructions.

Additional Information: The update applies to all relevant benefit requests filed on or after Aug. 4, 2025, and is considered controlling guidance moving forward.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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