Oasis Legal Services was founded so that LGBTQ+ immigrants would be treated with dignity and respect when seeking immigration relief. As a nonprofit, our partnerships ensure that we reach queer and trans immigrants with limited resources who are unaware of their rights. Since 2017, we’re proud to have directly represented over 2,700 individuals (queer and trans immigrants from across California, Washington, Oregon, and western Nevada).
2023 BY THE NUMBERS
In 2023, we spent $1,813,817 to fulfill our mission and programmatic goals. We are happy to report that we maintained funding with all of our recurring institutional partners with several funding cycles carrying over into 2024 and 2025.
Due to bureaucratic and systematic barriers, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has not kept up with the demand of asylum requests they receive, resulting in an asylum backlog. Out of our total number of clients, 947 individuals are stuck in the asylum backlog.
In 2023, we served 347 new clients, of which 206 were new asylum clients. Nevertheless, our clients in the backlog require ongoing legal aid throughout the year with needs like address changes, work permit renewals, replacing lost documents, and referrals for other legal services. Additionally, our Social Services Program continues to help clients navigate resources as needs around housing, employment, and health care arise.
Each year, we reach more and more queer and trans immigrants because of our established trust and rapport within LGBTQ+ immigrant communities. We provide continuity in legal services, such as permanent residency and citizenship representation, because our clients share that they have experienced discrimination or mistreatment when seeking help elsewhere. We believe that all LGBTQ+ immigrants should be treated with dignity and respect. Our unique Social Services Program also equips our clients with resources and care to address their intersecting needs. Clients are often surprised by our level of care, but as they proceed with their individual cases, our multiple touchpoints continue to reassure them.
Without congressional comprehensive immigration solutions, more of our asylum clients are pushed into the backlog of cases waiting to be adjudicated. Over the past three years, we have not been able to close the majority of our asylum cases, and so our legal advocates continue to assist each of our clients in a myriad of ways. It remains our mission to ensure that every qualifying LGBTQ+ immigrant receives the immigration relief they need. As it stands, our goal is to raise additional funding so that we can continue to serve all of our clients in the asylum backlog while simultaneously supporting new queer and trans asylum seekers.