Indian American grandmother detained by ICE despite living in US for 27 yearsAn Indian American woman who has lived in the United States for 27 years is in ICE custody despite an immigration judge dismissing the government’s previous effort to remove her from the country.
Venkata Narsamamba Vasamsetty, a grandmother of two and lawful permanent resident since 2013, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on August 11 during a scheduled check-in. She is currently being held at an ICE detention facility in Georgia, according to data from the agency’s Online Detainee Locator System, as reported by Newsweek.
Her detention comes nearly three months after an immigration judge terminated the government’s removal case against her on May 19, 2026.
The case centered on a seven-month stay Vasamsetty spent in India beginning in July 2022. The Department of Homeland Security argued that her extended absence showed she had abandoned her lawful permanent resident status.
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Her family and attorney dispute that claim. They say Vasamsetty traveled to India to care for her elderly and critically ill parents. While there, she contracted COVID-19, was hospitalized for nearly two weeks and experienced additional health complications that delayed her return to the U.S.
She eventually returned through Raleigh-Durham International Airport in February 2023.
Her attorney, Helen Parsonage, told NRI Pulse that Vasamsetty provided documentation showing she continued to maintain substantial ties to the United States during her time abroad. Those ties included her family, employment and home. Vasamsetty had also been in the process of purchasing a home in North Carolina before traveling to India, according to immigration attorney Zoe Wilson, who has publicly discussed the case with the family’s permission.
“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.
Vasamsetty has lived in the U.S. for more than two decades and worked as a public school teacher serving special-needs students in North Carolina. Wilson said Vasamsetty has no criminal history and has maintained lawful immigration status during her years in the country. She is also the mother of two U.S. citizen children and grandmother to two U.S. 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 said.
Wilson also said Vasamsetty has diabetes and requires ongoing medical care and glucose monitoring.
The government’s removal case against Vasamsetty was dismissed after DHS failed to meet a court-imposed deadline to provide evidence supporting its allegations, according to her attorney. The immigration judge terminated the proceedings on May 19.
Despite the dismissal, Vasamsetty continued attending scheduled ICE check-ins. She was taken into custody when she reported to the agency’s Charlotte office on August 11.
Wilson said ICE has disputed Vasamsetty’s claim that she remains a green card holder.
Following her detention, Vasamsetty’s legal team filed an emergency habeas corpus petition on August 13 challenging her continued detention. A federal judge subsequently ordered immigration authorities to explain the legal basis for holding her.
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According to NRI Pulse, the government’s latest filing did not agree that Vasamsetty’s detention was unlawful and did not order her release. However, the filing indicated that she could be entitled to a bond hearing depending on how the federal court applies recent legal precedent.
Lawful permanent residents generally have the right to live permanently in the United States. However, that status can be challenged in certain circumstances. Travel outside the country for an extended period can prompt immigration authorities to examine whether a permanent resident intended to maintain the United States as their permanent home.
USCIS guidance states that temporary or brief travel generally does not affect permanent resident status. However, authorities can determine that a person abandoned their status if the circumstances show they no longer intended to make the U.S. their permanent residence.
Vasamsetty’s family and legal team maintain that her seven-month absence was temporary and driven by family and medical circumstances, rather than an intention to give up her life in the United States. Her case is now before the federal court as she challenges her continued detention by ICE.