US lists transgender Brazilian congresswoman’s gender as ‘male’ on visa

A transgender Brazilian lawmaker says the US has issued a visa to her listing her gender as “male.”

Erica Hilton wrote on her Instagram page Wednesday that she requested a visa that allowed her to travel to the United States to attend Brazilian conferences at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The meeting took place earlier this month.

“I was classified as “male” by the US government when I went to get a visa,” Hilton writes.

Hilton is black Travelisti And a former sex worker in Sao Paulo who won a seat in the Brazilian parliament in 2022. The Washington Blade spoke with Hilton shortly after the election.

“It’s a huge responsibility…but I’m extremely honored,” Hilton said. “I really love being a representative of my people, and the over 250,000 people who voted for me are confident in me,” she said after speaking at a rally in support of now Brazilian President Louise Inacio Lula da Silva in Piazza Sao Paulo. “This shows that our work can have a huge reach. It’s a place where we can promote the efforts to end the death, poverty, misery and genocide we have.”

In his inaugural address, President Donald Trump announced that the federal government’s “official policy” is “only two genders: male and female.” The Trump Vance administration also prohibits the State Department from issuing passports with “X” gender markers.

Germany and Denmark are one of the countries that issued travel advisories to trans and non-binary people who are planning to visit the United States. These warnings come before WorldPride, which is scheduled to take place in DC from May 17th to June 8th.

Hilton said he was “not surprised” that the US issued a visa with a male gender marker.

“I’m also not surprised by the level of hatred and fixedness these people have with trans people,” she said. “After all, the documents I presented have been revised and I am registered as a woman even with my birth certificate.”

Hilton further accused the United States of “ignoring official documents from other sovereign states, even from diplomatic representatives.”

“After all, I am a Brazilian citizen, my rights are guaranteed and my existence is respected by our own constitution, legislation and jurisprudence,” she said.