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ARTICLE · 02 OCTOBER 2025

CBP Enforces Binary Sex Codes And Enhanced US Passport Validation In APIS

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued updates to the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) requirements that may affect business travelers and airlines.

United StatesImmigration
Ian Macdonald
Ian Macdonald

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued updates to the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) requirements that may affect business travelers and airlines. These changes, implemented in response to Executive Order 14168, "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government" issued in January 2025, introduce enhanced validation requirements for passenger data submitted by commercial air carriers.

Key Changes Overview

Sex Field Requirements: Effective Oct. 14, 2025, CBP systems will only accept "M" (Male) or "F" (Female) in the sex field of APIS transmissions. Any other characters will result in an "X Response-Insufficient Information" error, requiring airlines to resubmit the passenger data with corrected information.

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