Indian-origin US Green Card holder Venkata Narsamamba Vasamsetty, who has lived in the country for 27 years, was detained by ICE despite an immigration judge dismissing her deportation case in May. Authorities had alleged she abandoned her residency after spending seven months in India caring for her ill parents and recovering from COVID-19.

An Indian-origin woman who has spent 27 years in the US and holds a Green Card has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), despite an immigration judge having dismissed the government's deportation case against her months earlier. Venkata Narsamamba Vasamsetty, a grandmother of two and lawful permanent resident (LPR) since 2013, was taken into custody during a routine ICE check-in on August 11.

Vasamsetty is currently being held at an ICE detention centre in Georgia, according to data from the agency's Online Detainee Locator System cited by Newsweek. Her detention comes after a US immigration judge on May 19, 2026, terminated the previous removal proceedings against her.

The dispute over Vasamsetty's immigration status reportedly began after the federal government alleged that she had abandoned her permanent residency by remaining in India for several months in 2022. Her family and attorney, however, maintain that she had travelled to India to care for an elderly and seriously ill parent and was subsequently unable to return as planned after contracting COVID-19 and facing other health complications. They also say she continued to maintain strong connections to the US through her family, job and home.

Why Her Stay In India Became An Immigration Issue?