Like many trans people in recent weeks, I’ve found myself buried in government paperwork and waiting in lines at various agencies. After the election results came in, I wrote about the rush I felt to legalize my transition out of fear. I hoped to be proven wrong, or to find that I was overreacting—but Trump and his administration wasted no time pushing forward with their anti-trans agenda. On his inauguration day, he signed over 100 executive orders, many of which directly targeted trans people.

There’s a lot of conflicting information circulating online—some of it helpful, but much of it stoking fear, whether intentionally or not. As a result, there’s no clear guidance on whether trans folks should proceed with their paperwork. The risks are real: applications being denied, renewals triggering retroactive changes to your information, or, in my case, not knowing when (or if) I’ll get my passport back.

I submitted my passport application on January 21, with expedited services. Soon after, a leaked internal memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed staff to freeze all gender marker change requests. In the days that followed, a post, supposedly from an anonymous passport adjudicator, was shared online, claiming that all passport applications involving gender marker changes were being set aside while the department figured out how to proceed. Naturally, this post was shared far and wide, causing some people to halt their paperwork while others rushed to submit it. The conspiracist in me wonders if these posts were designed to discourage trans people from filing during the gap between executive orders becoming laws. The realist in me has come to accept that we’re no longer living in a democracy and anything could be true.

I’m sharing all of this to offer a bit of optimism: Last night, January 27, I received an email from the State Department stating that my passport application was “In Process.” I know this could just mean my paperwork is sitting in a giant pile somewhere, but I’m taking this update as a small win. If you’ve submitted your passport application during this period, I highly recommend signing up for email alerts through the State Department website. They don’t automatically send updates, so signing up is the only way to track your application’s progress.

Now, I don’t have all the answers, and I’m not sure anyone does right now. Here’s what trans lawyer and activist Chase Strangio has to say about passports:

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A post shared by Chase Strangio (@chasestrangio)

Erin Reed is also covering all of Trump’s anti-trans policies and attacks as part of her daily newsletter Erin in the Morning.

I’m truthfully not in a position to tell anyone whether they should or shouldn’t proceed with their paperwork. I also can only speak to the process in New York State, so I can’t offer advice for those in states without local protections for trans folks. But I do want to share some notes I took throughout my process in the hope they might help others.

If you’re going through the process of updating any identification paperwork — from your driver’s license, to your social security, to your passport — here are some tips for going through these labyrinth processes based on my own experiences.

1. Be prepared to “come out” over and over again: in public, to strangers, on paper, and in person.

As you go through this process, from the very first step of filling out your name change court order petition, you will have to list the reason you want to legally change your name. Sure, you could make up a reason that doesn’t completely “out” you as trans, but some people are less comfortable lying on government paperwork than others. I personally chose to write that I was transgender and that I was changing my name for my own safety. Then, throughout the rest of the process, you’ll likely be coming out to clerks, bank staff, your employer, the DMV staff, the folks at the Social Security Office, and wherever else you submit your official name change. A lot of these processes take place in sometimes crowded offices where others can hear your business. I am not saying this to scare you, and you shouldn’t be scared, but if you’re someone who could use some mental preparation, then I suggest you do just that.

2. Be prepared to dead name yourself and have others use your deadname.

For all the same reasons as I listed above, you will have to see, hear, write and say your deadname throughout this process. In order to secure your new name, you will have to acknowledge your old one.

3. Be over-prepared.

Many of these processes will require proof of address. Print out 5+ copies of your checking bank statement, your credit card statement, 1-2 utility bills if they have your old name and address on them. Additionally, collect unopened mail (from places like banks, health insurance, and utility companies, not personal letters) as a backup. I don’t have a printer in my home, but I printed my documents at my local Walgreens for less than $5 total.

4. Stay organized.

This is not the time to mess around (pun absolutely intended). Print out everything you need, separate them into piles per transaction (e.g. one pile for Social Security, one for DMV, another for Passport, etc.). Get a motherfucking manilla envelope or a Star Wars folder. I don’t care how you organize, so long as you keep your stuff organized. The last thing you want is to be at an appointment and be missing one of your required papers because you left it at home.

5. Take out cash.

Some of the offices in which you need to submit these requests not only require cash payment but exact change. It’s better to have more cash than you think you need to avoid having to leave a government building to go to the ATM. Who wants to make this process longer than it needs to be? Plus, the security in those buildings is so annoying.

6. Make sure you have enough money on your card(s).

If you are opting to use a card for places like the DMV, make sure you have enough money in your account to avoid a) the headache and b) having to redo the process another time.

7. If you cannot afford any or all of the fees associated with these processes, ask them if they have any fee waivers or forms to fill out as a poor person.

This may prolong the process, but hey you gotta do what you gotta do.

8. Map out each process ahead of time.

And I mean literally map them out. I live in NYC, which means I have to take public transit all over the city to get to each of these appointments. If I’m going all the way to the Financial District (spooky!), you bet your ass I’m going to go to the DMV around the corner from the Social Security Office. Why make unnecessary trips? See where all of the offices you need to visit are on a map and which ones you can bang out in one go. This is also important if you’re having to miss work or school or other commitments to get this done.

9. Find a notary.

Some of the applications for these processes require notarization. In my experience, the Name and Gender Marker Petition application and the birth certificate sex amendment application both required a signature and stamp from a notary public. I didn’t realize this, so I had my court order petition notarized by someone I knew at the beginning of the process, but ultimately had to get another notary for when I eventually did my birth certificate paperwork. Had I prepared a little better, I would have had all the applications printed ahead of time and got them notarized at the same time.
For the second application, I no longer had access to the notary public who did my court order petition. But I found out I could go to a UPS store and get something notarized there. I just had to search the UPS website for locations near me that had a notary. The availability times are not usually displayed on the website, but I found that most locations with notary services had a notary public there between 11 a.m and 3 p.m. The one application cost me $5.

10. Check how each form needs to be submitted ahead of time.

A lot of them are submitted in-person to various government offices. However, in my case, my birth certificate amendment application and my passport update application both had to be mailed. Luckily I remembered this and was able to mail both of them out at the same time in one post office visit.

11. Make appointments ahead of time wherever they’re available, especially the DMV.

This will help you avoid long waits. Not all of the other government offices take appointments, but some do, so be sure to check online!

12. Try to beat the rush.

For offices that don’t allow you to make appointments ahead of time, try to arrive right when they open. If an office opened at 7 a.m., my ass was there at 7:01 a.m.

13. Have a few copies of your official name change order.

There’s a small fee per copy of your official name change order; mine were $6 each. There’s many online resources that encourage you to get a bunch of these at once so you can give them to each place, but pretty much all the offices return them to you right away. In New York, the DMV and the Social Security office handed mine right back. However, I had to mail one in with my Passport application and one in with my birth certificate amendment application. They will eventually be returned to me, but only when they send the updated documents back. I got three copies, and that felt sufficient.

14. Update your Social Security information first.

The Social Security Office should be your first stop, because everything leads back to this mysterious made up number the government uses to keep track of you. Depending on when you’re reading this, you can hopefully still update your Passport. This should be an absolute priority after your SSN documents since it is a federal process, and that’s what’s most at risk with you-know-who in office. Next should be your state ID/license followed by insurance cards, birth certificate, employer information, bank accounts, voter registration, utilities, and all of the other weird places you’ll remember that have your name.

15. Utilize the preparation tools provided to you by these agencies.

Most of these applications include two parts: one prepares you to complete the application and the other is where you actually enter in your information. For instance, the DMV application for renewing your driver’s license provides checkboxes for the different forms of proof of identity and proof of address. So does the Passport application. It will tell you exactly what you need to bring with you. Use it as a rubric.

16. When in doubt, call the number listed or consult an expert.

Most if not all of these forms and applications will have a number listed to contact the agency. If there’s something that you’re confused about or needing clarification on, please use the resources provided to you. I made the mistake of not seeking clarification while filling out the New York name change petition application because of the very specific language they used. It said if you were born in New York State, you must include a certified copy of your birth certificate, but if you were born outside of NYS, you must include the original birth certificate. This language led me to believe that I could not use my original birth certificate, so I spent $80 to order a certified copy that will not arrive for another 130 days or so. It wasn’t until I spoke with a friend who had completed this process that I realized I could just use my original. So, learn from me, ask for clarity if you’re unsure of anything. 

17. Keep your new documents safe and secure.

You just put so much time, effort and money into getting these documents — protect them. Buy a safe or special box or envelope to store them in. There are fireproof and waterproof bags and boxes made specifically for important documents. Stay organized.

I know times are scary right now but just remember that trans people have existed since the dawn of time and will continue to exist far beyond our short time on Earth. They will never get rid of us. They could never erase us. I love you and everything will be okay.

If you have any helpful tips, especially if you live in a state without local protections, please drop them in the comments below.

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