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By Dan Gooding
Associate News Editor
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A Ukrainian woman married to a United States citizen has become one of the latest applicants to be detained by federal agents at their green card interview, despite her husband saying she had always had legal status.
Viktoriia Bulavina, 46, was detained at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in San Diego in front of her husband, Victor Korol, who has cancer, just before her interview ended on December 4.
"We had that interview with the immigration officer for an hour or so. She was asking questions about everything that we submitted. Then, when she finished everything, she said that it was fine…She said everything is good, it’s going to be OK, but she said, ‘I need to step out, excuse me,’" Korol told Newsweek on Monday afternoon. "She stepped out of the room, she came back with two people from ICE, and they said they were going to detain my wife."
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The Department of Homeland Security told Newsweek Tuesday that Bulavina was not in the U.S. legally because her Temporary Protected Status had lapsed.
Why It Matters
Reports have increased in recent weeks of immigrants seeking permanent resident status and citizenship being detained at their interviews and naturalization ceremonies at USCIS offices.
The Trump administration has penalized them for what were previously minor offenses which could have been discussed and disputed, such as missing a USCIS letter or discrepancies in paperwork.
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What To Know
Bulavina entered the U.S. under the Biden-era "Uniting for Ukraine" program in September 2022 after the breakout of the war between Russia and Ukraine earlier that year. Her daughter was already in the U.S., having arrived as a member of the Ukrainian national gymnastics team when the war broke out.
The mother applied for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) the following October, and USCIS approved the application in June 2024, allowing her to live and work in the U.S. through April 19, 2025, her legal team told Newsweek.
Bulavina married Korol in November 2024, and the pair filed her green card application in January this year, all while her TPS extension application was pending, with USCIS telling her they needed nothing further from her.
As the time approached for the green card interview, the legal team at California-based Pathways to Citizenship warned the couple that other applicants had been detained by ICE at the San Diego Field Office in recent weeks.
Korol told Newsweek the couple had believed they would be OK as TPS is a legitimate status and they had done everything correctly. So, when the USCIS officer returned with ICE agents, they were shocked.
"You don’t want to believe it is happening to her, and to us," Korol said, adding that the couple has five children between them who have all been left distressed.
Bulavina was held at the San Diego federal building until Sunday, Korol understands, only making it to an actual ICE detention center since then. He has spoken to his wife a few times on the phone, only because "a good-hearted guard gave her her personal phone to call."
Her attorneys remain unsure why ICE chose to detain Bulavina last Thursday, arguing that her TPS status remains in place while an extension is pending, and that her marriage to a U.S. citizen should give her further protections from enforcement.
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What People Are Saying
Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, in a statement to Newsweek Tuesday morning: "ICE arrested Viktoriia Bulavina, an illegal alien from Ukraine, on December 4, 2025. Her temporary protected status expired on April 19, 2025. She has been placed in immigration proceedings. All of her claims will be heard by a judge. She will receive full due process."
Solana Beach, attorney with Pathways to Citizenship, in a press release: "This is a woman who did everything right. She came here lawfully, renewed her legal status, followed every instruction from USCIS, and attended her green card interview with complete transparency. There is no justification for detaining her and tearing her away from her family, especially while her husband is fighting cancer."
What Happens Next?
Korol and the couple’s attorneys are calling for ICE to release Bulavina as soon as possible, with her husband telling Newsweek he hopes she can still be a green card holder.
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