The crest adorns a gate on the campus of Harvard University in Allston, Mass. On Tuesday, a federal judge that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol unlawfully canceled a Harvard researcher’s visa after smuggling allegations. File Photo by CJ Gunther/EPA-EFE
April 8 (UPI) — U.S. Customs and Border Patrol unlawfully canceled Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova’s visa after detaining her at Boston’s Logan International Airport over biological samples in her luggage, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
Petrova, a Russian citizen who studies advanced imaging technology at Harvard, was at the airport in Februrary 2025 while returning from Paris. She was carrying frog embryos used for her research when she was stopped for allegedly failing to declare the embryos, interrogated and placed in detention for about four months. After Petrova was released on bail in June, she was charged with smuggling biological material into the United States.
U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss ruled that customs had no authority to cancel Petrova’s visa for the alleged offense.
“The undisputed facts reveal that Ms. Petrova’s visa was impermissibly canceled because of the frog embryo samples, and for no other reason,” Reiss’ ruling said, reported The Washington Post.
Petrova returned to work in January after she won an earlier petition to do so. However, a criminal case and immigration proceedings related to the incident continue. A trial in the criminal case is set for later 2026.
Her attorney, Gregory Romanovsky, said that this decision is still “an important step,” according to NBC News.
“Today’s ruling makes it clear that, as broad as CBP’s authority is at the border, its actions cannot be arbitrary or capricious,” Romanovsky said. He said that such a customs violation would usually result in a fine and confiscation of the material.
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