On Apr. 11, the United States Department of State announced that after over a year in the works, U.S. citizens would now be able to select the gender “X” in addition to the previously available “F” and “M” options on their passports.

The official definition of the “X” gender identification is an “unspecified or another gender identity” and will become available for other security documents next year, according to the State Department. 

​​The definition was finalized after consulting with partner countries and conducting research with the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics that involved interviews with members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Receiving a passport with an “X” may not seem like a big deal to many, but it is something that an estimated 1.2 million Americans whose gender identification falls outside of male or female believe should have been implemented a long time ago

The U.S.’s State Department, in joining countries such as Germany, Canada, Nepal and Pakistan in offering a third gender selection, has set the precedent for becoming the first federal government to offer the “X” gender marker on an identity document.