Overview
- Viktoriia Bulavina was taken into custody at the end of her Dec. 4 marriage‑based interview and is being held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center, her husband and attorney said.
- She entered the U.S. in 2022 through the Uniting for Ukraine humanitarian parole program, later gained Temporary Protected Status in June 2024, and filed a timely TPS renewal in January that her lawyer says preserved authorized stay.
- Her family and counsel say she has no criminal record and that officials have given little case information, while her husband says agents asserted her status had expired.
- USCIS has stated apprehensions at its offices can occur when people have warrants, removal orders, fraud findings or other violations, but agencies have not publicly explained the basis for this detention.
- San Diego attorneys report multiple recent arrests tied to green card interviews since mid‑November, and protests in Utah followed a similar arrest during a final interview there.