Hogan Lovells has announced that a team of its lawyers, working pro bono, recently won asylum for a lesbian Macedonian woman who claimed she would be persecuted if forced to return to her native country.
The asylum petitioner was able to demonstrate that, while living in Macedonia, individuals who learned of her sexual orientation had threatened her life. She fled to the United States as a result and petitioned for asylum.
Her petition was granted by the Arlington Asylum Office on February 18, 2014. The successful asylum applicant stated that, “Macedonia is not a safe place for LGBT people and the government of Macedonia is not doing anything to protect us from discrimination and violence."
Chava Brandriss, an Associate in Hogan Lovells’ Washington, D.C. office, and Immigration Equality, a national organization that advances the immigration rights of LGBT individuals, referred the woman to Hogan Lovells. Both Brandriss and Immigration Equality provided assistance in the case. The team leading the successful representation included Hogan Lovells' New York Partner Scott Friedman, Washington, D.C. Associates Robert Baldwin and Katelyn Ruiz, and New York Associates Erin Meyer and Samuel Zimmerman.