Green Card holder who spent 30 years in US detained even after court case was terminated: Indian-origin grandma had no criminal record, & her daughter is an immigration lawyer

Venkata Vasamsetty, a Green Card holder who has lived in the US for around 30 years, has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), prompting her family to launch a ‘Free Venkata’ campaign and seek public support.

Vasamsetty's case has drawn attention because she had previously won an immigration court case in which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) failed to establish that she was removable. Her daughter, Yashaswini Vasamsetty, is an employment-based immigration attorney licensed in Texas and New Jersey.

Read more - A Florida couple bought a 45-acre swamp to save it from development; 15 years later, 275 wood storks were nesting there in a thriving wildlife haven


Yashaswini's friend, Zoe Ji Wilson, shared details of the family's ordeal on LinkedIn, including Vasamsetty's detention in Georgia.

Who is Venkata Vasamsetty?

Venkata Vasamsetty has lived legally in the US for three decades and obtained her Green Card in 2013.

She is a teacher with the Wake County Public School System in North Carolina and owns a house in the state. She is also the mother of two US citizen daughters and a grandmother to US citizens.

According to her family, Vasamsetty has no criminal record and has never even received a speeding ticket.

Her immigration troubles began after she spent an extended period in India during the Covid pandemic.

Why did Venkata Vasamsetty stay in India for seven months?

Vasamsetty travelled to India in July 2022 to visit her father, who was suffering from several medical conditions.

She contracted Covid in November and was hospitalised in India for nearly two weeks. Her illness delayed her return to the US.

She eventually returned in February 2023, meaning she had spent around seven months outside the US.

At Raleigh-Durham International Airport, she was stopped by DHS officials over the length of her absence. The authorities raised concerns that her extended stay could indicate an intention to abandon her US permanent residence.

Vasamsetty's family disputed that interpretation, pointing out that she had maintained strong ties to the US. At the time of her return, she was reportedly in the process of purchasing a house in North Carolina.

Can a Green Card holder be arrested by ICE?

A Green Card holder can be detained or placed in removal proceedings in certain circumstances. Lawful permanent resident status does not provide absolute immunity from immigration enforcement.

An extended absence from the US can also lead to questions about whether a permanent resident intended to abandon their residence. However, spending more than six months outside the US does not automatically mean that a person has abandoned their Green Card. The circumstances surrounding the absence and the person's continuing ties to the US can be relevant.

In Vasamsetty's case, her family said her seven-month absence was linked to her father's health problems and her own Covid infection and hospitalisation.

What happened to Venkata after she returned to America?

After her return, ICE gave Vasamsetty a date to appear before an immigration court and allowed her to return home to her family.

She was also required to report regularly to ICE's Charlotte office.

Her family said Vasamsetty attended every scheduled ICE appointment and submitted documents to demonstrate that her extended stay in India was caused by exceptional circumstances and that she had never intended to abandon her life in the US.

The immigration case eventually went before an immigration judge.

Immigration court ruled in favour of Venkata

The court ultimately ruled in Vasamsetty's favour, according to the account shared by her family.

The immigration judge found that DHS had not met its "burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence" that Vasamsetty was removable as charged.

Her case was terminated on May 19, 2026, taking her out of the removal proceedings.

However, an administrative issue involving a later ICE appointment would lead to another dramatic turn in the case.

Why was Venkata detained by ICE in August 2026?

Vasamsetty had an ICE appointment scheduled for July 11. According to Wilson, the appointment was not cancelled.

Vasamsetty attended and took the immigration court's order with her. She was reportedly told that ICE's records had not yet been updated and was asked to return a month later.

When she appeared for the next appointment on August 11, she was detained.

She was subsequently taken to the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia.

Wilson alleged that the detention took place even though an immigration judge had already terminated Vasamsetty's removal proceedings.

Family raises concerns about Venkata's medical condition

The family's concerns have also focused on Vasamsetty's health.

Wilson said Vasamsetty is severely diabetic and did not have her insulin, medications or medical supplies with her when she was taken into custody.

"No warning. No notice. No opportunity to prepare. No regard for the fact that an Immigration Judge had already terminated her removal proceedings. No regard for the fact that she is severely diabetic and did not have her insulin, medications, or medical supplies with her. No regard for any of that. They put her in handcuffs and took her into custody. DHS did not file a new Notice to Appear until the day after she was detained. She was not in proceedings at the time of her arrest," Wilson wrote in her post.

The family is now seeking support through the ‘Free Venkata’ campaign.

Venkata's daughter is an immigration lawyer

The case has attracted additional attention because Vasamsetty's daughter, Yashaswini, is herself an employment-based immigration attorney.

Yashaswini is licensed to practise law in Texas and New Jersey. Her professional background has added another dimension to the family's concerns over Vasamsetty's detention.

Wilson has been sharing the family's account and urging people to understand what the case could mean for other Green Card holders.

Zoe Ji Wilson warns other immigrants about the case

In her post, Wilson argued that Vasamsetty's experience should concern anyone who believes lawful permanent residence provides complete protection from immigration detention.

"If this can happen to Yesh's mother, people need to understand what this means. It means lawful status, decades of compliance, a clean record, a court order, and even basic medical vulnerability may still not be enough to protect someone from being detained and stripped of their freedom. That should terrify all of us," Wilson wrote, noting that not everyone has lawyers in their families.

Vasamsetty’s family is still pushing for her release, while her case has raised questions about how someone can be detained even after an earlier removal case has been closed.


Inputs from TOI