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Girlfriend detained by ICE after OPT denial: Redditor says she had no criminal record, no prior removal order

Read the original at Times of India ↗
Cite

Ghosh, P. (2026, September 17). Girlfriend detained by ICE after OPT denial: Redditor says she had no criminal record, no prior removal order. Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/girlfriend-detained-by-ice-after-opt-denial-redditor-says-she-had-no-criminal-record-no-prior-removal-order/articleshow/134321010.cms

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Times of India · collected 2026-09-17 · by Poulomi Ghosh

Quick Summary

A Redditor reported that his Mexican girlfriend was detained by ICE in Atlanta after her Optional Practical Training (OPT) application was denied due to an apparent date error. Despite having no criminal record and being within a 60-day grace period provided following the denial, she was arrested based on an outstanding warrant. The Redditor seeks advice from others who have experienced similar situations involving ICE detention during pending appeals for OPT denials.
Written by AI on 2026-09-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

A Redditor reported that his girlfriend, who held a valid F-1 visa in the United States and applied for Optional Practical Training (OPT), was detained by ICE in Atlanta after her OPT application was denied due to what appears to be a date-related error. The denial came with a 60-day grace period, which would not have expired until October but was ignored when ICE agents approached her with an arrest warrant at a public place.

Despite having no criminal record and no prior removal order, the girlfriend was questioned by ICE about staying in the U.S. after her OPT application was denied. An immigration attorney filed a motion challenging this decision while she remained in custody pending further review. Her school informed her that her grace period had started following the denial, but ICE detained her before it expired.

The Redditor is currently seeking an immigration lawyer to handle his girlfriend's case and is reaching out for support from anyone who has experienced similar detention by ICE during the appeal process of their OPT application.

Written for “ICE Detention After OPT Denial” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 ICE Detention After OPT Denial
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
28
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
11%
3 of 28 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
59/100
Times of India's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Times of India · 3898 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Poulomi Ghosh
95 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 46-year-old Simeswell Cyril, an Indian national, is now being held in Sydney immigration detention and will be facing deportation from the country because of his fraudulent compensation claim.
🔮 US President Donald Trump has agreed to grant an immediate visa to the mother of 15-year-old Javits Frimpong, who was fatally shot while walking to school in New York City's Bronx neighbourhood, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Saturday.
🔮 She would stop them for a few minutes as they travelled along the sidewalk carrying food orders.
🔮 Dozens of Afghan migrants detained in the United States are expected to be deported as early as next week, potentially including relatives of Afghans who worked alongside American military forces during the war in Afghanistan.
🔮 Soldiers with the 3rd Corps Sustainment Command and the 20th Engineer Brigade, based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as well as religious support personnel like military chaplains, used diggers and excavators to see how effectively they could be used to help preserve bodies intact until they could be identified and repatriated to the US.
🔮 Viral dad Walt Z told the prankster that he was already running behind his schedule despite working nonstop, and while the influencer was making the prank video to get views that may translate into money, Walt has four children at home and a mortgage that he can't pay.
🔮 “I could tell you that we have had issues with sleep.
🔮 The temporary block means the Diversity Visa program, which is also known as the Green Card lottery, will not open by November 1.
🔮 "All 2% Indian Americans in Texas will vote for this guy, who doesn't hate them for just existing.
🔮 Detectives said their investigation led them to believe that Kaur “may have entered” the TID canal located east of the apartment complex.
Also by Poulomi Ghosh
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 95 articles by Poulomi Ghosh →

Topics

Atlanta ICE Mexican U.S. USCIS

Subjects

ICE ORG · 6× USCIS ORG · 2× Atlanta ORG · 1× Mexican NORP · 1× Reddit ORG · 1× SEVP ORG · 1× U.S. GPE · 1×

Narrative

The Redditor said the OPT application was denied because of an apparent error with dates, against which an appeal has already been filed, and she was given a 60-day grace period that would not have expired until October.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-18
🔮 The Redditor said the OPT application was denied because of an apparent error with dates, against which an appeal has already been filed, and she was given a 60-day grace period that would not have expired until October.

Claims (28 extracted, 3 hedged)

A Redditor claimed that his girlfriend, who was in the US on a valid F-1 visa, was detained by ICE in Atlanta after her OPT application was denied. asserted
application → claim → Atlanta
The Redditor said the OPT application was denied because of an apparent error with dates, against which an appeal has already been filed, and she was given a 60-day grace period that would not have expired until October. asserted
that → say → October
"ICE agents approached her in a public place with an arrest warrant. asserted
agents → approach → warrant
From what I've heard, they questioned why she was still in the U.S. after her OPT denial. asserted
she → hear → denial
She has no criminal record and, to my knowledge, no prior removal order," the Redditor said. asserted
Redditor → have → knowledge
"Her school informed her that her grace period had started following the denial. asserted
period → inform → denial
An immigration attorney subsequently filed a motion challenging the decision, but ICE detained her while the motion was still pending," the post said detailing the case " asserted
post → file → case
She is currently in custody, and we have not yet confirmed whether a removal order exists. asserted
order → confirm → custody
I'm currently working on hiring an immigration attorney to handle her detention, but I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experienced a similar situation. asserted
who → work → situation
Has anyone experienced ICE detention while an OPT motion was pending?" the Redditor asked. asserted
Redditor → experience → detention
The nationality of the girlfriend was revealed to be Mexican. asserted
nationality → reveal → girlfriend
What happens after an OPT denial? asserted
What → happen → denial
An OPT denial does not automatically mean that the student has to leave the US that same day. asserted
student → mean → US
The key issue is what happens to the student's underlying F-1 status and whether the student is still within an applicable grace period. asserted
student → happen → period
Under the F-1 rules, students generally receive up to 60 days after completing their course of study and authorized practical training to prepare for departure or take other steps to maintain status. asserted
students → receive → status
USCIS also recognizes this 60-day period in its guidance on unlawful presence. asserted
USCIS → recognize → presence
It says that when OPT is withdrawn or denied, the OPT authorization ends and the 60-day grace period runs from the date of the withdrawal or denial. asserted
period → say → withdrawal
The guidance says the student must either leave the US when that grace period expires or take other steps to maintain status. asserted
period → say → status
Many social media users commented that the grace period is discretionary and can be revoked. asserted
period → comment → ?
"USCIS status decisions and ICE enforcement don't always move in sync. asserted
decisions → move → sync
Grace period status isn't always reflected in real-time in the databases ICE checks, and having a pending motion to reopen/reconsider doesn't automatically stop enforcement action. asserted
having → reflect → action
'No criminal record' doesn't help much here. asserted
record → help → ?
If there's no final order, an immigration judge may be able to set bond. uncertain
judge → be → bond
This is usually the fastest way to get someone out of physical detention while the case proceeds," one suggested. uncertain
one → get → detention
Why the case matters to international students asserted
case → matter → students
Though there is no verified information about this particular case, the Reddit post t comes at a particularly sensitive time for international students in the US. asserted
post → be → US
OPT is one of the main routes through which F-1 graduates obtain temporary work authorization after completing their studies. asserted
graduates → obtain → studies
The administration is cracking down on OPT abuse and many students may get OPT denied. uncertain
OPT → crack → abuse
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