Russian Scientist at Harvard Detained Over Customs Violation Awaits Asylum Hearing

Kseniia Petrova, held in Louisiana since February, fears persecution if deported to Russia due to her anti-war activism.

Kseniia Petrova, a Russian scientist at Harvard Medical School, was detained at Boston Logan Airport on February 16 after failing to declare frog embryo samples in her luggage.
Her visa was revoked by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and she was transferred to an ICE detention facility in Louisiana, where she remains in custody.
Petrova is seeking asylum in the U.S., citing fears of imprisonment and persecution in Russia for her protests against the war in Ukraine.
A preliminary asylum hearing is scheduled for May 7, while a separate lawsuit challenging the visa revocation will be heard on June 9.
Her detention has drawn criticism from legal advocates and colleagues, who argue the response was disproportionate to the customs violation and disrupts her critical scientific research.