TSA Secure Flight FAQ - Information on new TSA regulations requiring all airline travelers to state their gender (PDF)
Transgender People and Passports – Pamphlet from the National Center for Gender Equality (PDF)
(Information or instructions in this pamphlet should be checked against the US State Department website’s passport information.)
New US WHTI Travel Requirements – Effective June 1, 2009. Basically means you must have a passport to travel to Mexico, Canada, or the Caribbean.
Changing existing passports
If you have an existing U.S. passport and want to update your name or sex, you can probably do it through the mail by sending in your old passport with an application for a new passport, new photos, and the required documents. This can also be done in person at a post office or other location that accepts passport applications.
Changing the name on your passport – From the US Dept. of State
Application form for a new passport
To change the name on your passport, you need to submit a legal name change decree or proof of common law name usage (see link above for details).
To change the sex marker on your passport, you need to submit a letter from a surgeon stating that you have had sex reassignment surgery. Letters for this purpose should be worded to indicate that your surgery was “complete, successful, and irreversible sex reassignment surgery” or something to that effect, but do not need to state what kind of surgery you have had.
If you have not had SRS, but have a letter from a doctor stating that you plan to have SRS surgery in the near future, you can get a temporary passport with the new gender marker good for one year. Part of the purpose of this policy is to allow people to travel overseas for SRS.
You will need to either mail or submit in person original certified copies of any required documents, not just photocopies. The documents will be mailed back to you after you receive your new passport.
New passports
If you are getting a passport for the first time you will need to apply in person at a post office or other approved location.
Application form for a new passport
If your name/gender do not match your birth certificate, you will need to submit name change documentation and/or a letter documenting SRS or intention to have SRS, as explained above.
Submitting paperwork for a gender change in person
The State Department has a documented procedure for processing a change of gender for a new or updated passport. Most passport agents in the Portland area probably have experience handling applications with gender changes. If the passport agent handling your application is unfamiliar with gender changes, let them know that a process for it exists and there should be documentation they can refer to.
The official process does not include asking detailed questions about your gender or the nature of your surgery. The agent should just need to see that you are submitting the required documentation.