Our client, a Venezuelan national, applied for asylum with the Miami Asylum Unit of the United States Immigration and Citizenship Services after several years of being in the United States. As a gay person, his claim was that he would be persecuted on account of his sexual orientation in Venezuela. Individuals who apply for asylum more than one year after their arrival to the United States do not qualify. Our client was recently diagnosed as HIV positive and we were able to prove a change in circumstances that allowed him to qualify for the exception to the one-year bar. He was granted asylum and in one year he will be applying for adjustment of status as an asylee.

Political Asylum Granted.