Why are immigrants being arrested during green card interviews & what does this mean for Indian applicants?

The sudden escalation has prompted widespread anxiety among immigrant communities, especially Indians who also rely on marriage-based adjustment for long-term residency.

Why are arrests happening inside marriage-based green-card interviews?

The shift is partly based on identifying fraudulent marriages and partly to arrest those who are overstaying even after being out of status despite qualifying for adjustment. A person who qualifies for adjustment means that they are eligible to change their status from temporary/non-immigrant status (like a tourist visa, student visa, etc.) to that of a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) without leaving the US.

Houston-based immigration attorney Rahul Reddy describes the current environment as one in which USCIS officers are no longer hesitating to escalate suspicions. “You need to understand, there are a lot of fraudulent cases that get filed in marriage cases. Approximately 30 to 40 per cent of the cases filed under marriage are fraudulent, if not more.”

He says that what previously would have triggered a routine request for more documentation has now become grounds for immediate detention. “Previously, when officers suspected fraud, they used to issue a Request for Evidence. Now, under Trump 2.0, the direction is, if you’re confident it’s fraud, go and directly detain them.”

Officers appear unwilling to delay an investigation when they believe something is amiss. “Nowadays, they don’t send an RFE. They are arresting the people and then asking the questions.”

Is overstaying enough to justify arrest, even when married to a US citizen?

Under long-standing immigration law, a spouse who entered the US legally remains eligible for a green card even if they have overstayed for years. Reddy emphasises this principle clearly, noting that “the law is very clear: if a person has overstayed even for 30 years, the person is still entitled to get the green card if the marriage is genuine.”

Despite this, several of the recent detentions appear to involve nothing more than a visa overstay. “To arrest someone in a green-card interview just because of overstay is a grey area. They have not denied the adjustment of status, so the person is in a grey area and should not have been arrested.”

Speaking to The Indian Express, Texas-based Immigration lawyer Chand Parvathaneni echoes this concern, pointing out that the overstays being targeted were often those traditionally forgiven in the adjustment process.

He says that “basically overstays used to be forgiven if one married a US citizen, and now it looks like overstays can expect detention during green card interviews.”

In his practice, Parvathaneni said he has not seen an Indian national detained under these circumstances, but he stresses that the legal vulnerability is universal: if someone is out of status, ICE can act, even if the green card application is valid.

Are Indians being affected by this policy?

Some believe that this stringent action is targeted towards preventing illegal immigrants from entering the US from Mexico.

“I have not seen any for Indian citizens yet, since mostly Indians usually do not overstay compared t,o say people who came in from Mexico”, Parvathaneni said.

He explains that “so far, I don’t think any Indians have been detained or arrested for cases like these.”

However, Reddy states that Indian nationals are not immune to scrutiny when fraud is suspected. “Indians are not immune to fraudulent marriage cases. Some of them do it, and they have been detained. One of the top illegally entering groups now is Indians… the number has become very high.” He also stated that claims of political persecution, once used by some migrants, are being treated far more strictly now.

“Earlier, people would make excuses, ‘we are from Khalistan,’ ‘we are Congress people and Modi is harassing us.’ Now, Trump 2.0 is putting illegal entrants in jail… If the marriage is genuine, absolutely no problem,” says Reddy. However, he suggests that applicants with status gaps or irregularities should seek counsel. “I would definitely recommend taking a lawyer to the interview if there are questions on the legality of the marriage,” Reddy adds.

Is this happening all over the United States or limited to certain field offices?

Attorneys report that so far the enforcement pattern appears concentrated in the San Diego USCIS field office, although they warn it may spread if it reflects an internal shift in national strategy rather than a regional anomaly. Reddy says, “So far, we are only noticing this in San Diego. We are not noticing it in any other district.”

“We don’t know yet whether the detentions in San Diego are because of overstay, or because they think the marriage is not genuine,” Reddy added.

Parvathaneni confirms that the trend seems localised at the moment. He notes that “for now, I heard this happening in San Diego field office interviews” and says he has not come across similar cases at other field offices.

What happened during previous US administrations? Were arrests common before this?

Historically, arrests during marriage-based green-card interviews were extremely rare, and when they did occur, they typically involved applicants with significant red flags such as criminal warrants, prior deportation orders or severe fraud findings.

Under the Obama administration, officers generally relied on Requests for Evidence (RFEs) or follow-up interviews when they suspected fraud.

During the Trump administration’s first term (2017–2020), enforcement rhetoric was tough, and interviews became more stringent, but interview-room arrests were still unusual and usually limited to individuals already in removal proceedings (deportation to home country)

Under the Biden administration, USCIS moved back toward a facilitative approach in marriage-based cases, prioritising removals based on public safety or national security concerns. Overstays alone were never treated as grounds for detention at USCIS facilities.