Long India Visit Triggers ICE Detention of Long-time US Green Card Holder

Venkata Narasamamba Vasamsetty, who has lived in the United States for nearly three decades and works as a teacher in North Carolina, traveled to India in July 2022 to tend to her ailing father. Contracting Covid-19 and being hospitalized extended her stay to roughly seven months, prompting the Department of Homeland Security to question whether she had abandoned her permanent residency, as absences over six months can raise such concerns.

Although an immigration judge found the government lacked “clear and convincing evidence” and terminated the removal proceedings on May 19, ICE continued to require her regular check-ins. During a scheduled appointment on August 11, she was arrested and transferred to the Irwin County Detention Center, despite the case’s dismissal. Her family alleges she was handcuffed, transported in a closed van, and has sought help from the Indian Embassy and India’s Ministry of External Affairs; a federal court later granted her bail.