Woman Detained During Birthday Trip Despite Pending Green Card Application

A woman was detained at San Juan airport in Puerto Rico while returning home from a birthday trip, despite having a pending green card application.

Maryia Vviadzenskaya, 28, who goes by Masha, was stopped by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers on April 16 while preparing to board a flight from Puerto Rico to Hawaii, where she resides with her U.S. citizen husband, Spencer Ricciardello.

Vviadzenskaya, a Belarusian national, had traveled to the island territory with her spouse and friends to celebrate her birthday.

The group was departing for Hawaii when Vviadzenskaya was stopped at a TSA checkpoint after presenting a U.S. driver’s license. She was pulled aside, authorities flagged her expired visa and informed her that she would be detained.

“Her family is very worried and concerned because she has had a very tough year, she lost her mother two months ago and her father a couple years ago that are also from Belarus. but I’m staying in contact with the rest of her family and keeping them updated with everything,” Ricciardello told Newsweek.

“They said they could put her in handcuffs when they detained her but didn’t want to do that in front of everyone and make it a big scene. They mentioned that their protocols have gotten stricter recently, but never said anything inappropriate or acted aggressively towards us and let us have time to go say goodbye.”

The arrest comes amid a crackdown on immigration by President Donald Trump’s administration. Trump has vowed to remove millions of immigrants without legal status as part of a hard-line mass deportation policy. The White House has said that anyone living in the country illegally is a “criminal.”

Vviadzenskaya entered the United States legally on a student visa in 2022, later obtaining a work visa after graduating from college. She has no criminal record, according to her husband, and previously worked as an ESL and elementary school teacher in California before relocating to Hawaii. She is currently unemployed as she awaits renewed work authorization.

A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson told Newsweek that she was detained after trying to board a flight with an expired visa, having overstayed by eight months and lacking legal immigration status.

“This individual was detained after attempting to board a flight with an expired visa—plain and simple. She had no lawful immigration status at the time of travel, having overstayed her visa by eight months,” the spokesperson said.

“Additionally, when departing from a U.S. territory like Puerto Rico to the mainland, CBP officers have specific authority to inspect immigration status and take appropriate enforcement action.

“Bottom line: once your visa expires, you are unlawfully present in the U.S. There is a proper legal process for maintaining immigration status—and there are consequences when it’s ignored.

Although Vviadzenskaya was aware of the expiration, she believed traveling to Puerto Rico—a U.S. territory—would not raise issues given its commonwealth status. The couple has a pending green card application through marriage.

After the detention, Ricciardello said they were not immediately informed of where she would be transferred. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told her husband she could be sent to either South Florida or Louisiana.

In response, her husband changed his travel plans and returned to Florida to stay with family while awaiting updates. Vviadzenskaya was transferred to a Broward Transitional Center in Florida where Ricciardello has been able to visit her weekly while they work to resolve her case.

“Luckily, she was sent to Florida where I could go visit her once a week and be there for her until we figure this out,” Ricciardello said.

“It was emotional for both of us because we didn’t know when we were going to see each other again and I knew it was going to be a while and a process to get her out, so it was tough to see her get taken away,” he added.

Her bond hearing was delayed due to issues involving her passport, which was not initially transferred from Puerto Rico to the detention center. The passport was not received until May 19, nearly two weeks after her first hearing on May 6, complicating efforts to move the case forward.

“[I’m feeling] very stressed and worried and hoping for a positive result because it has been taking longer than expected,” Ricciardello said.

The couple continues to work with their attorney to resolve Vviadzenskaya’s case and pursue her adjustment of status through marriage. The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with legal costs, which has so far raised a little over $9,000.