Beginning in November 2025, ICE agents have detained spouses of U.S. citizens at USCIS offices immediately following marriage-based green card interviews at multiple locations including San Diego, Cleveland, New York City, and Utah. The detainees include a British mother, Ukrainian refugee, wife of a Navy veteran, and German man, among several dozen others. All were eligible for green cards under federal law that grants immediate relatives exceptions even if they had fallen out of status. Many detainees had no criminal history and were approved for their green cards, yet remained in ICE custody facing prolonged immigration court proceedings. Immigration attorneys describe the detentions as a break in decades of established policy, noting that clients were following legal pathways to permanent residency.