By Michelle Hackman and Joseph De Avila
Federal immigration authorities shouldn't have revoked the visa of a Russian scientist at Harvard Medical School after she failed to declare frog embryos she was bringing home to her lab, a federal judge in Vermont ruled on Wednesday.
Kseniia Petrova , a biologist studying cell rejuvenation and longevity, was detained in February at Boston Logan International Airport after returning from a vacation to Paris, where she picked up specimens from a French lab to study at Harvard.
Petrova said she couldn't figure out how to declare those specimens upon her arrival. Authorities detained her at the airport baggage claim after a dog sniffed them out in her suitcase. The government maintains Petrova was intentionally attempting to illegally smuggle the specimens into the U.S.
Immigration authorities at the airport revoked her J-1 visa, a temporary visa for academic researchers, and threatened to send her back to Russia. Petrova has said she couldn't safely return because she had participated in protests against the war in Ukraine.
U.S. Judge Christina Reiss, of the federal district of Vermont, found that the government didn't have a legal basis to revoke the scientist's visa based on a customs violation and ordered her released on bail.
"Ms. Petrova has submitted compelling declarations and witness testimony that supports the conclusion that what happened in this case was extraordinary and novel, that there does not appear to be either a factual or legal basis for the federal immigration officers actions," Reiss said Wednesday.
Write to Michelle Hackman at michelle.hackman@wsj.com and Joseph De Avila at joseph.deavila@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 28, 2025 13:50 ET (17:50 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.