The Curious Case of Indian - origin Telugu Lady Vasamsetty's Green Card Vs Immigration Issue

Venkata Narasamamba Vasamsetty, originally from a village near Amalapuram in Andhra Pradesh's Konaseema district, moved to the United States in 1999 after her husband settled there. She obtained her Green Card in 2013 and built a life in Cary, North Carolina, working as a substitute teacher in the Wake County Public School System and raising two US-citizen daughters.

Her troubles began after a 2022 trip to India, where she went to care for her ailing father and reportedly fell ill with Covid-19, delaying her return to the US by more than six months. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) argued this extended absence suggested she had abandoned her lawful permanent residency, triggering removal proceedings against her.

In a significant turn in May, an immigration judge terminated those proceedings, ruling that the government had failed to prove she was removable, effectively affirming her status as a lawful permanent resident. Despite this, Vasamsetty continued attending her scheduled ICE check-ins as required.

The case took an unexpected twist on August 11, when she reported to an ICE office in Charlotte for what should have been a routine appointment. Instead of being allowed to leave, she was detained and transferred to the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia, where she remained for over two weeks, a move that stunned her family given the earlier dismissal of her case.

At a bond hearing, DHS attorney Abby Cannon conceded Vasamsetty posed no danger to the community but argued she was a flight risk, citing her travel patterns: 61 days in the US in 2019, 96 in 2021, and 67 in 2022. Her attorney, Helen Parsonage, countered that these trips were tied to caring for her ageing parents and that Vasamsetty's deep US ties, her husband, US-citizen children and grandchildren, home, employment, and clean tax and criminal record showed no intent to abandon her life in America.

Immigration Judge Chad Bayse sided largely with Vasamsetty, acknowledging some residual flight risk but ruling that DHS had not met its burden of proof. He set bond at $7,500 (approximately Rs 7.14 lakh), though he declined to grant the minimum possible amount. Her release comes with conditions, including attending all future hearings and avoiding any legal trouble.

Importantly, the bond ruling does not resolve the underlying dispute; DHS still maintains she abandoned her residency, a claim her legal team continues to contest.

Adding to the family's distress, relatives say Vasamsetty suffers from severe insulin-dependent diabetes and allege she did not receive adequate medical care or appropriate food during her detention. Her family is now working to post bond and secure her return home to Cary, North Carolina, as she continues to be in detention.