United States · Third-country transfers
This is no longer a hypothetical concern
In 2025, the United States and Ecuador concluded an agreement relating to the transfer of certain third-country nationals to Ecuador. For a non-Ecuadorian LGBTQ+ or transgender person, that makes Ecuador-specific evidence potentially relevant even when Ecuador is not the person’s country of nationality.
Which case are you handling?
Two removal scenarios require different framing
Ecuadorian national
Return to country of nationality
The question may be whether an Ecuadorian LGBTQ+, transgender or HIV-positive person faces persecution, serious harm, health-care barriers or ineffective state protection if returned.
Potential request: country-conditions report + institutional support letter + documented violence context.
Third-country national
Proposed transfer to Ecuador
The person may have no Ecuadorian nationality, established community network or prior residence. The analysis can include whether Ecuador is actually safe and practically accessible for that individual.
Potential request: Ecuador risk memorandum + LGBTQ+/trans context + health/HIV access information when relevant.
HIV and medical continuity
A return decision can have medical consequences too
For a person living with HIV, the relevant question is not whether Ecuador has an ART program in the abstract. It can be whether that person can maintain uninterrupted, clinically appropriate treatment in practice.
Official availability
Ecuador’s Ministry of Health reports ART as part of the public HIV response and reported national treatment coverage of 88.8% for 2024.
Reported interruptions
Civil-society reporting in 2026 has raised concerns about treatment interruptions. Those reports should be evaluated together with official data and the client’s own treatment history.
Individual evidence
Medication regimen, resistance history, location, specialist access, prior interruptions and stigma can matter to the risk analysis.
What to send us
Make the first email usable
Full name and nationality.
Country and, if useful, court or agency.
Return, deportation, third-country transfer, LGBTQ+/trans risk, HIV, or another issue.
State the filing date clearly.

