The original poster said a judge had initially overturned this, but claimed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) became involved and revoked the decision, meaning he could now face 20 years in prison.
This follows a New Zealand mother who was detained at the Canadian border after a visa mishap while trying to return home to Washington state.
Sarah Shaw and her 6-year-old son were held for three weeks at a facility in Texas because she tried to leave and re-enter the United States without both parts of her visa being approved.
She was returning to the US after putting her two other children on a flight to New Zealand from Vancouver.
Shaw initially arrived in the US as a tourist in 2021 and married a citizen.
After the marriage ended, she filed an I-360 petition in 2022, lawyer Melinda Thorward told CNN.
Shaw had been living in the country under a “combo card”, a document that serves as a work permit and a travel document.
She was unaware that the travel permit, which allowed her to leave and re-enter the United States, had expired.
A GoFundMe was set up to assist Shaw and her son, raising over $110,000 for them.
Shaw was eventually released but wasn’t given any of her documents and had to wear an ankle monitor without a court order or any explanation of why or how to manage it.
She spoke to the Herald via a family friend, Victoria Besancon, after being released.
“She cannot go more than 70 feet [21m] away from home. They also confiscated her driver’s licence, her passport and ID, causing her to be unable to drive to or from work,” Besancon said.
“She doesn’t understand why they confiscated her identification while placing her in an ankle monitor, because they know exactly where she is.
“What’s the point of keeping her from being able to work?”
Besancon said Shaw will likely be on an ankle monitor until all her court hearings are finished.
