First-time Trans Passport - Success!
I wanted to share my experience as a transgender American who recently got my first ever passport. I'm happy to report that I received my passport with the correct gender.
First, I had already changed my name and gender on my birth certificate, driver's license, and with the Social Security Administration prior to inauguration. I live in a red state but thankfully (and perhaps importantly for those in a similar situation) my new birth certificate did NOT say anything about being amended. The issue date, of course, was not close to my date of birth, but this didn't seem to raise any alarms.
I included my previous name, which was very much gendered the opposite of my current name, on my application, and this did not seem to flag anything either. I didn't receive the letter that some folks have posted that asks for more details to verify sex at birth. This gives me hope that they are still not using the SSA to verify gender.
I had my appointment at my local USPS and paid for expedited processing - this was post-inauguration, but I'm not specifying dates just to be extra safe. I received my passport in the mail about 3 weeks after my appointment. I am still waiting for my supporting documents to be returned, but I made sure to get another copy of my birth certificate, so I'm not worried about any delays with that.
Obviously I can't guarantee that everyone in this situation will end up with a correct passport, but I wanted to share my experience so that some folks can have a sliver of hope in this dark time. This has been a huge point of stress for me over the past month and I'm so glad to have the weight lifted.
I'm happy to answer any questions, excluding anything that could be used to identify me.