Indian-origin grandmother detained by ICE despite terminated deportation case
Hyderabad : Indian-origin woman who has lived in the US for 27 years and held a Green Card since 2013 has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), months after an immigration judge terminated the government’s deportation case against her.
Venkata Narsamamba Vasamsetty, a grandmother of two and a lawful permanent resident (LPR), was taken into custody on August 11 when she reported for a scheduled ICE check-in at the agency’s Charlotte office.
She is being held at an ICE detention facility in Georgia, according to data from ICE’s Online Detainee Locator System cited in reports on the case. Recent reports have also confirmed her detention and identified her daughter, Yashaswini Vasamsetty, as an employment-based immigration attorney.
Dispute centres on seven-month stay in India
The immigration case against Vasamsetty stemmed from the US government’s allegation that she abandoned her permanent residency after spending about seven months in India in 2022 and early 2023.
Her family and lawyer dispute the allegation. They said she travelled to India in July 2022 to care for her elderly, critically ill parents and later contracted Covid-19, was hospitalised and developed further health complications that delayed her return.
According to immigration attorney Zoe Wilson, a friend and former colleague of Vasamsetty’s daughter, Vasamsetty returned to the US through Raleigh-Durham International Airport in February 2023.
Wilson said Vasamsetty had been outside the US for about seven months and maintained substantial ties to the country through her home, family and employment.
“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,” Wilson wrote in a LinkedIn post, according to the material provided.
At the time of her departure, Vasamsetty was in the process of buying a home in North Carolina to serve as her primary residence. She completed the purchase while she was in India, Wilson said.
Immigration judge terminated case in May
Vasamsetty’s attorney, Helen Parsonage, told NRI Pulse that the Department of Homeland Security had alleged that her seven-month absence showed she had abandoned her permanent residency.
Vasamsetty responded by submitting documents that her legal team said showed she had continued to maintain her life in the US while abroad.
Parsonage said DHS failed to meet a court-imposed deadline to submit evidence supporting its case. An immigration judge subsequently terminated the removal proceedings on May 19, 2026.
Vasamsetty continued attending scheduled ICE check-ins after the case was terminated. She was detained during her August 11 check-in.
According to Wilson, ICE has since taken the position that Vasamsetty “isn’t a green card holder.”
Her legal team filed an emergency habeas corpus petition on August 13 challenging her continued detention. A federal judge ordered immigration authorities to explain within three days the legal basis for holding her.
The latest filing by ICE does not concede that the detention was unlawful and does not order her release. It indicates that, if the federal court applies recent precedent, Vasamsetty could be entitled to an immigration judge hearing to determine whether she can be released on bond.
If the court rules in favour of the government, Vasamsetty is expected to receive a bond hearing within seven days.
Green Card holders can face removal proceedings
US lawful permanent residents can live and work permanently in the country, but their status does not make them immune from removal proceedings in circumstances provided under immigration law.
A prolonged absence from the US can trigger scrutiny over whether a permanent resident intended to maintain the country as their permanent home. Wilson cited US Citizenship and Immigration Services guidance stating that temporary or brief travel normally does not affect permanent resident status, but a person can be found to have abandoned that status if they did not intend to make the US their permanent home.
Wilson argued that Vasamsetty’s circumstances did not show such an intention.
“Any reasonable person should be able to look at the facts of Mrs Vasamsetty’s circumstances and understand the difference between a temporary, medically complicated trip and one with intent to actually abandon their green card,” she wrote.
Family cites long US residence and medical needs
Vasamsetty has worked as a teacher for special-needs students in North Carolina, according to Wilson.
Wilson said Vasamsetty has no criminal history and has maintained lawful immigration status throughout her US residence. She is also the mother of two US citizen children and grandmother to 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,” Wilson wrote.
Wilson also said Vasamsetty is “severely diabetic” and requires glucose monitoring and medical care.
The case has drawn attention because of the detention following the termination of the earlier removal proceedings. Her family has since sought public support for her release.
