Manatt Obtains Asylum for LGBTQIA+ Kazakh Client

Manatt successfully secured asylum for an LGBTQIA+ Kazakh woman after a nine-year process before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).  

The asylum seeker—referred to as ZA—fled her home country after a lifetime of physical and verbal abuse. In Kazakhstan, the law prohibits homosexual relationships, and there are no protections for victims of physical abuse for being a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Despite these laws and lack of protections, ZA tried to live an open life and become a business owner, opening a liquor store with her sisters before she was brutally attacked and targeted for being lesbian.  

In its brief to the USCIS, the Manatt team presented ZA’s experiences from childhood to adulthood of repeated incidents of bullying, violence and persecution from her community. After applying for asylum, ZA waited more than nine years for the USCIS to schedule her asylum interview.  

Three weeks following that interview, ZA was granted asylum and can now remain in the U.S. to openly live as a proud gay woman. ZA looks forward to opening her own Japanese-Kazakh fusion restaurant.  

The case was referred to Manatt by long time pro bono partner in 2015. The Manatt team representing ZA included and , with assistance from and .