Indian-Origin Kapil Raghu’s US Visa Revoked After Perfume Labelled as ‘Opium’ Mistaken for Drug, Now Faces Deportation

Mumbai, October 7: Kapil Raghu, an Indian national living in the United States and married to an American woman named Ashley Mays, is seeking to restore his work visa. This comes months after Raghu was arrested by the police in May over a perfume bottle. Raghu, who is presently living in Arkansas, was detained for a month by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the authorities mistook his bottle of perfume for opium. Now that the charges against him have been dropped, the Indian national is seeking to have his visa status restored.

Why Was Indian-Origin Kapil Raghu Arrested?

According to a report in The Guardian, Kapil Raghu was detained on May 3 after police officers in Benton, a suburb in Little Rock, pulled him over for having a non-moving traffic violation. Raghu's attorney, Mike Laux, said that during the stop, cops found a perfume bottle in his car, which was labelled "Opium". Post this, the cops arrested Raghu for possessing narcotics, even though the Arkansas resident told them that the bottle contained perfume and the word "opium" referred to the scent. Indian Nationals Killed in US Accident: 3 Members of Family From Telangana Die After Collision Between 2 Cars in Florida.

Perfume Labelled as ‘Opium’ Mistaken for Drug

Bodycam footage of the incident shows the police accusing Raghu of having an illegal substance in his vehicle. "You got a vial of opium that was in your center console," an officer is seen telling Raghu. In his defence, Kapil Raghu told cops that he was not doing anything wrong when he was pulled over by cops. "I was following all regulations," said Raghu. Notably, Raghu was making a food delivery when he was pulled over by cops.

Kapil Raghu Detained in Louisiana by ICE for 30 Days

Soon after his arrest, Raghu's wife, Ashley Mays, arrived at the scene and said, "I’m confused on why he’s going to jail". Following his detention, the Arkansas State Crime Lab concluded that the substance found in the bottle seized from Raghu's car was perfume and not opium. However, Raghu ended up spending three days in the Saline County jail, where authorities found an "administrative/legal error" which showed his visa status had expired.

Raghu Has 'Deportation' Status, Says His Lawyer Mike Laux

Post this, Raghu was taken into custody by ICE officers, who sent him to a federal immigration facility in Louisiana, where he was detained for 30 days. Nearly two weeks after his arrest, a district court judge dropped all charges against Raghu on May 20. However, the ICE detainment put a stop to his journey to becoming a permanent US citizen. In a fundraising page, Mays said that her husband's work visa was revoked. Raghu's lawyer said that Raghu has a "deportation" status, meaning he can be immediately deported for any minor offense. ‘India Opposes Illegal Migration; 2,417 Nationals Have Been Deported or Repatriated From US Since January 2025’, Says MEA (Watch Video).

This week, Raghu wrote a letter to ICE's legal office in which he explained his case and sought help to resolve his immigration status through proper legal channels. In his letter to the ICE office, the Indian national said that his immigration attorney had "failed to timely file the required paperwork before my visa expired, which left me vulnerable and placed me in my current situation".

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 07, 2025 08:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).