Asylum Victory For Gay HIV+ Immigrant From Uzbekistan

Nearly six years after our pro bono client first filed his asylum application, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finally granted him asylum in the United States. Our client is a gay man living with HIV who fled Uzbekistan because he had suffered anti-gay violence and feared he would be harmed again due to his sexual orientation and HIV status. The client had lived in a patriarchal society in Uzbekistan where gay men are routinely ostracized and attacked because they do not conform to traditional gender norms. Instead of being able to live freely as his authentic self, our client was forced to hide his gay identity in a futile attempt to avoid abuse and violence. Despite his efforts to closet himself, our client was ultimately assaulted by homophobic men, but he could not report the attack to the police, receive treatment for his wounds at a hospital, or even tell his family about the attack because he knew that doing so could expose him to