ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the LGBTIQ movement in the Dominican Republic and the migratory experiences of Dominican sexual minority refugees seeking asylum in the US. It examines national and international laws pertaining to refugee status and asylum claims and their effects on sexual minorities who apply for asylum. It argues that the lack of a coherent definition of ‘social group’ in US asylum laws and the Geneva Convention and the difficulties sexual minority applicants have faced in presenting material proof of sexual identity/orientation and associational status hamper the possibility for LGBTIQ refugees to be granted asylum. This is particularly critical for lesbian women because the majority of sexual minority refugees who apply for and are granted asylum are gay men on the basis of their persecution as HIV-positive people. 2
