U.S. issues new guidance for LGBT asylum claims

[xchrom]

http://www.washingtonblade.com/2012/01/26/u-s-issues-new-guidance-for-lgbt-asylum-claims/

U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services issued new guidance on Tuesday to assist officers handling asylum and refugee claims from LGBT people seeking to escape persecution by living in the United States.

The module, called “Guidance for Adjudicating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Refugee and Asylum Claims,” addresses legal issues for weighing such cases, covers factors that must be considered when interviewing LGBT applicants and details methods to assess credibility of claims. The guidance doesn’t expand the statutory definition of a refugee.

According to Immigration Equality, the guidance is the result of a two-year collaborative process between the organization and USCIS. In a statement, Victoria Nelson, Immigration’s Equality’s legal director, called the module an “important step to better protect LGBTI asylum seekers.”

“This guidance will give officers the tools they need to gather the necessary evidence for validating an asylum claim, while respecting the often sensitive issues that potential asylees must navigate based on their past persecution,” Nelson said.

[MarkCharles]

1. Wouldn't it be nice for the us here in the USA if ALL the immigrants...

were LGBT????

I don't mean to make light of the critical issue of governments who practice intolerance toward our community.

It's a huge issue, and getting bigger in several nations, I do know that.