A routine check-in with US immigration authorities took an unexpected turn for Venkata Narsamamba Vasamsetty, who was taken into ICE custody despite having lived in the country for 27 years and holding a valid Green Card since 2013.
Vasamsetty, a grandmother of two, was detained on August 11 during a scheduled check-in with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The detention came months after an immigration judge had dismissed proceedings seeking her removal from the United States, Newsweek reported, citing data collected through ICE's Online Detainee Locator System.
Why was she detained?
The development comes after the federal government alleged that she had abandoned her lawful permanent residency after spending a substantial amount of time in India in 2022, the report added.
Her family and lawyer said she had travelled to care for her critically ill parents and was later unable to return as planned after contracting COVID-19 and developing other health complications.
According to immigration attorney Zoe Wilson, Vasamsetty returned to the US through Raleigh-Durham International Airport in February 2023 after being outside the country for about seven months.
{{/usCountry}}According to immigration attorney Zoe Wilson, Vasamsetty returned to the US through Raleigh-Durham International Airport in February 2023 after being outside the country for about seven months.
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Who is Venkata Narsamamba Vasamsetty?
Wilson said Vasamsetty has no criminal history, has maintained lawful immigration status, works as a public school teacher with special-needs students, and has two US citizen children and two US citizen grandchildren.
"She has been a Lawful Permanent Resident, a green card holder, since 2013. She has NO criminal history. She is a public school teacher who primarily works with special-needs children. She is a mother to two U.S. citizen children. She has two US citizen grandchildren. Her home, her family, her career, and her life are here and have been here for over 27 years," Wilson wrote.
Wilson also said Vasamsetty is "severely diabetic" and "requires glucose monitoring and medical care."
US immigration rules allow permanent residents to travel abroad, but lengthy absences can lead to scrutiny over whether they intended to abandon their US residence. USCIS guidelines state that "permanent residents are free to travel outside the United States, and temporary or brief travel usually does not affect your permanent resident status."
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Defending Vasamsetty, Wilson said, as quoted by Newsweek, "She wasn't packing up her life in the United States. She wasn't moving back to India. She wasn't leaving with the intention of giving up her green card. At the time she left, she was literally in the process of buying a home in North Carolina to be her primary residence. Then, while she was in India, she completed that purchase."
Her attorney, Helen Parsonage, told NRI Pulse that the Department of Homeland Security alleged Vasamsetty's seven-month stay in India showed she had abandoned her permanent residency.
Vasamsetty submitted documents showing she continued maintaining her life in the US while abroad. Parsonage said DHS missed a court-imposed deadline to provide evidence supporting its case, after which an immigration judge dismissed the removal proceedings on May 19, 2026.
Despite the dismissal, Vasamsetty continued attending scheduled ICE check-ins until her detention on August 11. Wilson said ICE claims she "isn't a green card holder."
On August 13, Vasamsetty's legal team filed an emergency habeas corpus petition challenging her detention. A federal judge then ordered immigration authorities to explain within three days the legal basis for holding her.
According to NRI Pulse, ICE's latest filing does not acknowledge that Vasamsetty's detention was unlawful or order her release. However, it indicates that if the federal court applies its recent precedent, she would be entitled to have an immigration judge consider whether she can be released on bond.
If the federal court rules in favour of the government, Vasamsetty is expected to receive a bond hearing within seven days.