SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Orion Hodge loves to travel.
"I've been to Europe for large trips, going to Rome, Paris, London,” Hodge, who applied for a U.S. Passport, said.
The 22-year-old San Diegan is in the final steps of getting his degree at Cal Poly Pomona.
"And I hope to visit more places that I've never been to,” Hodge said.
Hodge told ABC 10News he transitioned in 2019.
He said they've gotten nearly all identification legally changed from his driver’s license to his name.
"And my passport is the last step,” Hodge said.
With a trip to Australia on the books, there’s much to look forward to with a new passport.
"His mom and I started thinking about an international trip to reward him for a successful bachelor's degree," said Thomas Yonker, Hodge's stepfather.
"We already have the plane tickets, we already have all the hotels,” Hodge said.
Yonker told ABC 10News that Hodge filed for his passport to be changed in Nov. 2024, a clerical error had to be updated in December, and it was in the State Department’s system on Jan. 22.
Hodge said that outside of the name change, he was changing his gender from female to male.
However, everything changed for them during President Donald Trump's inauguration speech.
"As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female,” President Trump said during his inauguration address.
Hodge said his application was held up because he was trying to change his gender on the document.
A State Department spokesperson confirmed that President Trump signed an executive order acknowledging only two genders.
The spokesperson added that U.S. government-identifying documents must reflect the order, and the department will only issue passports with a male or female marker that coincides with someone's biological sex.
The State Department’s website also details that includes a delay on applications for those asking for a different gender.
"I'm just trying to go on a vacation with my family, and I want to know if that's even possible,” Hodge said.
During our interview, Yonker told me the application was being processed.
He then checked in with Hodge, who has been checking the application status seemingly every day.
"Let's see here, 'Oh! And It's been approved, and it's been shipped,'” Yonker said.
However, Hodge told ABC 10News he won't know if the gender was changed until the passport comes in the mail.
Given he has all of his other IDs and documents with their gender changed, there's a wonder what will happen when using the passport.
"Could databases get mixed up? That’s something that is possible,” Yonker said.
