Hello there!
I am a Canadian citizen. I have a fiance who is in the USA, on a student visa for the past 7 years. My fiance is legally male, but is a transgender woman who has not yet begun to transition to female. I myself am legally male. We are not yet married, but we are planning to get married this month. Their student visa in the USA expires in approximately a month too, and they have not been able to find work in their field or anything of the sort that will let them stay in the USA.
They are a Russian citizen, and are terrified of going back to their home country of Russia due to the bad climate there for gay/transgender people. We are planning to, soon after we get married (not the same day, but likely within a couple weeks), cross together from the USA into Canada at a land border, and seek asylum on the grounds of LGBT, with the exception to the "safe third country agreement" being that I am their family member (spouse) as a Canadian citizen living in Canada.
The National Documentation Package for Russia provided by the Canadian government cites sources that state that the climate for LGBT in Russia is dangerous and even potentially life-threatening. We are able to get documentation from my fiance's therapist stating that they are transgender, and we are also able to get an affidavit from their current roommate who they are good friends with and also know that they are transgender (being transgender themselves.)
We intend to seek legal counsel on this matter, but wanted to get an opinion from a community like this as well, hopefully from others with similar experiences.
Do you think that my fiance will be allowed into Canada to seek asylum and have their claim referred to the IRB for a hearing? And do you think that the claim is likely to be accepted at the hearing?
Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you!
I am a Canadian citizen. I have a fiance who is in the USA, on a student visa for the past 7 years. My fiance is legally male, but is a transgender woman who has not yet begun to transition to female. I myself am legally male. We are not yet married, but we are planning to get married this month. Their student visa in the USA expires in approximately a month too, and they have not been able to find work in their field or anything of the sort that will let them stay in the USA.
They are a Russian citizen, and are terrified of going back to their home country of Russia due to the bad climate there for gay/transgender people. We are planning to, soon after we get married (not the same day, but likely within a couple weeks), cross together from the USA into Canada at a land border, and seek asylum on the grounds of LGBT, with the exception to the "safe third country agreement" being that I am their family member (spouse) as a Canadian citizen living in Canada.
The National Documentation Package for Russia provided by the Canadian government cites sources that state that the climate for LGBT in Russia is dangerous and even potentially life-threatening. We are able to get documentation from my fiance's therapist stating that they are transgender, and we are also able to get an affidavit from their current roommate who they are good friends with and also know that they are transgender (being transgender themselves.)
We intend to seek legal counsel on this matter, but wanted to get an opinion from a community like this as well, hopefully from others with similar experiences.
Do you think that my fiance will be allowed into Canada to seek asylum and have their claim referred to the IRB for a hearing? And do you think that the claim is likely to be accepted at the hearing?
Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you!