Russian Asylum Seekers Surge in US, Gay Laws Seen as Factor.

WASHINGTON, October 24 (By Carl Schreck for RIA Novosti) – The number of Russians seeking asylum in the United States spiked by nearly 16 percent this year, a jump that comes amid anecdotal evidence that more and more Russians are petitioning for stateside sanctuary based on claims of persecution due to their sexual orientation.

“We’ve seen at least for the last two or three years a dramatic increase in our Russian clientele,” Aaron Morris of Immigration Equality, the largest organization assisting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) asylum seekers in the United States, told RIA Novosti on Thursday

The United States received 837 asylum applications from Russian nationals in the 2013 fiscal year ending Sept. 30, up from 722 applications the previous year and the most since 2002, according to data provided to RIA Novosti by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (UCIS).

Many Russian asylum claims cite persecution back home due to race, religion or political convictions, but it is impossible to state with certainty what has driven the increase. UCIS could not provide a breakdown on the types of persecution claims made by the applicants, and privacy laws prevent officials from discussing details of individual cases.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20131025/184339932/Russian-Asylum-Seekers-Surge-in-US-Gay-Laws-Seen-as-Factor.html