Abstract
The Russian government adopted “anti-gay propaganda” laws in 2013, prompting an exodus of LGBT+ individuals who sought asylum in Western countries. Little is known about this new and diverse group of immigrants and their post-migration experiences in the U.S. An interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyze nine semi-structured interviews. Four major themes emerged: “being a new asylum seeker: challenges ranked,” “reconciling multipolar identities,” “a sense of safety and freedom vs. a shock of nonsupport and discrimination,” and “belonging: new communities and their challenges.” The study calls for counselors to gain knowledge of immigration policies and new immigrant LGBT+ communities to address the within-group diversity, immigration and asylum challenges, language barriers, and general institutional barriers to services faced by these populations.
Disclosure statement
The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and publication of this article.