SAN DIEGO — A Ukrainian woman was arrested by federal immigration agents last week while attending her scheduled green card interview at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services building in downtown San Diego, an occurrence that immigration attorneys say is becoming increasingly common.

Viktoriia Bulavina first entered the country in 2022 through a Biden-era humanitarian parole program for Ukrainians displaced by the war. Her daughter was participating in a gymnastics competition in the U.S. when the war started, and they were later reunited through the Uniting for Ukraine program. As of Sept. 30, 2023, more than 158,000 people arrived in the United States as part of that process, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

She later met her husband, Victor Korol, who is a U.S. citizen, in San Diego. On Thursday, they went to what was supposed to be their final marriage-based green card appointment. Near the end of the interview, she was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in front of her husband.

Though the couple had heard on the news that some people had been detained at their appointments, Korol said they had hoped that wouldn’t happen to them.

“We were worried about that,” he said. “We give it a thought that she has a good status. And you can’t really not go to the interview if you want to get the green card.”

A USCIS official referred questions to ICE. Neither ICE nor DHS responded to inquiries Monday.

Bulavina’s application for Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, was approved in June 2024 and was set to expire in April 2025, according to her lawyer. However, the secretary of Homeland Security announced an 18-month extension for Ukrainians who re-registered in the program, lasting through October 2026. In January, months before her status was set to expire, she applied to renew it, along with her work authorization, within the USCIS-required timeframe.

Under federal regulations, her status continues while her renewal is pending, which means she is in a period of authorized stay, her lawyer said.

The couple married in November 2024, and in late March, she and her husband petitioned for a green card for her. Then last week, what should have been a routine appointment ended with her being taken away in handcuffs.

“This is basically a widespread daily occurrence in San Diego right now,” said her attorney, Caroline Matthews, with Pathway to Citizenship San Diego, a local nonprofit organization that provides affordable and pro bono legal services to immigrant families.

“The violation of people’s basic right to liberty, due process rights, to be on notice of why you’re being put into an arrest situation, a detention situation, and a removal proceeding,” she added.

Since mid-November, a number of immigration attorneys in San Diego have reported that their clients were arrested during green card interviews.

“Our communities deserve better,” Michelle Celleri, legal rights director with the organization Alliance San Diego, said at a silent vigil held by immigration advocates outside the USCIS building last month. “They have done everything that has been asked of them, and that is how they made it to the very last stage of their process. This is unacceptable.”

Matthews — who had another client arrested last month just as her interview was ending — described the situation as people being “entrapped by ICE.”

“This is unprecedented,” she said. “But Victoria is one step further because she is not even out of status,” she added.

USCIS officials said last month, after word got out about detentions, that apprehensions at their offices could occur in cases where individuals are identified as having outstanding warrants, removal orders, or as having committed fraud, crimes or other violations while in the country.

“USCIS is responsible for administering America’s lawful immigration system and ensuring the integrity of the immigration process,” USCIS spokesperson Matthew J. Tragesser said in a statement at the time. “The agency protects the public safety and national security interests of the American people by screening and vetting aliens coming to this great nation. Aliens in our country must respect our laws or face the consequences.”

Bulavina was taken to the downtown federal building for processing. She was transferred to the Otay Mesa Detention Center around Saturday night or early Sunday, her husband said.

Matthews said that her client followed the rules and has no criminal history.

“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,” she said in a statement.

Bulavina and her husband live in Rancho Peñasquitos. Bulavina, who had worked in construction in Ukraine, had dreamed of opening a business installing window blinds in San Diego.

Her husband battled cancer, and she became the family’s primary provider during that time. He is now in remission.

Korol has spent the last couple of days reaching out to elected leaders, asking for help. “I’m trying to do as much as I can to fix this situation and get her out,” he said.

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