Harvard Scientist's Visa Was Unlawfully Canceled, Judge Finds

A national judge successful Vermont ruled that Harvard intelligence Kseniia Petrova’s visa was unlawfully canceled after she was detained astatine an airdrome complete biologic samples she was carrying, handing her a cardinal ineligible triumph successful a lawsuit that has raised questions astir nan limits of authorities powerfulness astatine nan border.

In a determination issued Tuesday, nan tribunal said “the undisputed facts uncover that Ms. Petrova’s visa was impermissibly canceled.”

Petrova, a Russian-born interrogator astatine Harvard University’s Kirschner Lab, has based on for much than a twelvemonth that nan cancellation was unlawful. She was stopped astatine Boston Logan International Airport past February aft returning from Paris. Her visa was canceled; she was later placed into migration proceedings and detention. This disrupted her groundbreaking activity connected precocious imaging technology that has nan imaginable to toggle shape crab diagnostics, according to chap researchers.

The Department of Homeland Security said successful a statement that Petrova was “lawfully detained aft lying to national officers astir carrying substances into nan country.”

Petrova described nan incident differently.

“They asked if I person immoderate biologic samples successful my luggage. I said yes,” she antecedently told NBC News. She described disorder complete nan customs procedures and a lengthy interrogation by CBP officers.

“Nobody knew what was happening to me. I didn’t person immoderate contact, not to my lawyer, not to Leon, not to anybody,” she said, referring to Dr. Leon Peshkin, a main investigation intelligence astatine Harvard’s Department of Systems Biology and her head and mentor. “And nan adjacent day, they didn’t opportunity what would happen. I was waiting successful a cell.”

The ruling, her lawyer said, helps reside those circumstances.

“Today’s determination marks an important measurement toward correcting what should ne'er person happened successful nan first place,” Gregory Romanovsky said successful a connection Tuesday. “For complete a year, Kseniia Petrova has maintained that CBP had nary ineligible authority to cancel her visa connected February 16, 2025. Today, nan U.S. District Court successful Vermont agreed.”

The connection besides noted that Petrova won a abstracted ineligible situation successful Massachusetts successful December that allowed her to return to work. She has been backmost successful her laboratory since January aft a twelvemonth navigating ineligible proceedings, including clip successful migration detention successful Louisiana, distant from her research, friends and nan location she built successful Boston.

“Today’s ruling makes clear that, arsenic wide arsenic CBP’s authority is astatine nan border, its actions cannot beryllium arbitrary aliases capricious,” Romanovsky said.

While this ruling allows Petrova to stay successful nan U.S. for now, her ineligible battles are not over. She is still facing a abstracted criminal lawsuit stemming from nan airdrome incident, pinch a proceedings scheduled for later this year.