An Indian national’s work visa has been cancelled, and he is now facing deportation from the United States because of a case of mistaken identity involving a bottle of luxury perfume. Kapil Raghu, who lives in Arkansas with his American wife, was arrested in May when authorities thought a bottle of perfume labelled “Opium” was the real substance.
The Confusion at a Traffic Stop
The trouble started on May 3, when Raghu was pulled over by police in Benton, a suburb of Little Rock, for a traffic violation that didn’t involve movement. He was on his way to deliver meals at the time. During the authorities’ later search of his car, they found a little bottle of perfume with the well-known name “Opium” on it.
Even though Raghu quickly explained that the word meant the smell of the perfume, he was detained for having drugs. According to reports, body camera footage shows one officer telling Raghu, “You had a vial of opium in your center console.” “Go sit down.”
“I wasn’t doing anything wrong when he stopped me. Raghu said, “I was following all the rules.” Ashley Mays, his wife, who has subsequently taken on three jobs to help pay for the high legal bills, said at the time of the arrest, “I’m confused about why he’s going to jail.”
Arrest Reveals Visa Problem
The Arkansas State Crime Lab later proved that the liquid in the bottle was perfume and not opium, the narcotic. A district court judge officially dropped the drug allegation on May 20, but the situation had already turned into a terrible immigration dilemma.
At first, Raghu spent three days in the Saline County Jail. During this time, the authorities found out what his lawyer called an “administrative/legal error”: his work visa had run out. Because of this mistake, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested him and sent him to a federal immigration facility in Louisiana, where he spent 30 days in jail.
Facing Deportation and a Work Ban
Raghu has now been released, but the events that led to his work visa being revoked were set in motion by the perfume mix-up. Mike Laux, his lawyer, talked about how important his current situation is:
“Kapil now has a ‘deportation’ status, which means he can be deported right away for any small crime, even jaywalking.”
Work Ban: “More importantly, this classification means he can’t work and support his family, which has been very hard for them.”
Raghu can’t work right now because his father and uncle are retired police officers in India. He has a wife named Ashley and a stepdaughter. Raghu wrote a letter to the ICE legal office asking for help with his immigration status. He says that his previous lawyer’s failure to file the necessary papers on time put his status at risk.
The couple is under a lot of stress, both emotionally and financially, because they have spent all of their funds on legal bills that were supposed to go toward a new home.