Since 1994, Immigration Equality has been proud to advocate for and represent lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ), and HIV-positive immigrants seeking safety, fair treatment, and freedom.

As the only LGBTQ organization with a staff of immigration attorneys, Immigration Equality impacts both the individuals Immigration Equality serves and the immigration system as a whole.

Life-Saving | Life-Threatening
In over 80 countries around the world, it is a crime or fundamentally unsafe to beLGBTQ. For far too many people, it is impossible to be out and proud.

For more than 20 years, they have been focused on providing free direct legal services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,queer, and HIV-positive immigrants, including:

Asylum seekers forced to flee to the U.S. to find safety
LGBTQ immigrant and binational couples and families separated by oceans
Detainees trapped in immigration jail facilities
Undocumented LGBTQ people living in the shadows inside the U.S.

Core Value: Access to Counsel
Immigration Equality knows that LGBTQ and HIV-positive immigrants are an especially vulnerable population.

Every year Immigration Equality receives thousands of legal questions from LGBTQ and HIV-positive people forced to flee violence and persecution based on their gender identity, sexual orientation, or HIV status.

Unlike in the U.S. criminal justice system, representation is not provided to individuals in immigration court. Imagine that you don’t speak any English and that you’ve just arrived in the United States for the very first time and you’re facing a trained government attorney arguing zealously for your deportation. The deck is stacked against you from the start.

At Immigration Equality, they fundamentally believe in access to counsel.

Legal Team = In-House + Pro Bono Network
Immigration Equality is the leading LGBTQ immigrant rights organization in the country. Each year, they provide advice and legal services to thousands of LGBTQ and HIV-positive immigrants seeking refuge, fair treatment, and freedom in the United States. They work every day to ensure the safety and well-being of the community.

The work is truly lifesaving because there are nearly 80 countries around the world where it is a crime to be LGBTQ, with consequences up to and including the death penalty. For this reason, they fight to obtain asylum in the United States for LGBTQ and HIV-positive refugees. Every year, the caseload grows. Nevertheless, Immigration Equality maintains a remarkable 99% win rate.

Changing the System
At Immigration Equality, they advocate for policy reform and demand fair treatment for all LGBTQ and HIV-positive immigrants. Immigration Equality does so by:

 lobbying Congress to pass progressive bills like the Reuniting Families Act, which would allow family recognition for LGBTQ couples fleeing countries where they had no access to marriage equality;
advocating against discriminatory administrative policies, like the requirement by the Centers for Disease Control that people living with HIV undergo unnecessary, lengthy, and unsafe tests abroad before obtaining a green card; and
training all of the new asylum officers in the United States on LGBTQ and HIV immigration law.