Harvard scientist with valid visa detained for bringing frog embryos to Logan Airport

A Russian scientist working at Harvard Medical School was detained at Logan International Airport in February for having frog embryos in her suitcase. She is currently being held in Louisiana.

Kseniia Petrova, 30, was stopped by Customs and Border Protection agents at the luggage conveyor belt on Feb. 16 upon returning from a trip to France. At the airport, she didn’t declare the “nonhazardous, noninfectious, and non-toxic frog embryos” she was bringing home for the leader of her research group at Harvard Medical School. This is according to a federal lawsuit filed by her attorney in the U.S. District Court, District of Vermont, who noted concerns she could be transferred to Guantanamo Bay.

The complaint notes Petrova’s “inadvertent failure” to declare the items shouldn’t have resulted in her detention. Her attorney said when someone doesn’t properly declare an item or brings something that isn’t allowed into the U.S. to an airport, there’s a process to get rid of it and penalize an individual.

“There was no cause for CBP to instead follow an entirely different process, that of expedited removal in which CBP erroneously looked beyond [Petrova’s] valid research visa, canceled that visa, issued a baseless expedited removal order, apprehended her, and is continuing to detain her,” wrote her attorney Gregory Romanovsky. He said border patrol and ICE haven’t provided him with documentation of the Logan Airport encounter.

Romanovsky said during questioning, border patrol officers issued forms — which Romanovsky says were incomplete — alleging Petrova is subject to “expedited removal.” He said Petrova agreed to return to France, but was detained instead, with her research visa canceled.

She was taken to a detention facility in Chittenden County, Vermont, before being transferred south.

Why was Petrova detained?

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said she was “lawfully detained after lying to federal officers about carrying biological substances into the country.” The spokesperson said a K-9 inspection revealed undeclared petri dishes, containers with unknown substances and vials of embryonic frog cells without permits.

The spokesperson said messages found on Petrova’s phone “revealed she planned to smuggle the materials through customs without declaring them.”

The complaint notes Petrova’s boss at Harvard is Dr. Leonid Peshkin. Peshkin asked Petrova to bring “histological samples of frog embryos” from his scientific collaborators at the Institut Curie Centre de Recherche in France back to Harvard so that their lab could continue processing and analyzing data from them.

“Dr. Peshkin’s request for [Petrova] to transport the samples in person stemmed from his prior experience in shipping similar samples that were either seriously delayed or lost in transit,” the complaint reads.

The Guardian first reported on Petrova’s arrest.

Peshkin told The Guardian he made a “huge mistake,” and said Petrova made a “paperwork mistake” on the U.S. Customs declaration form. He noted the legal penalty for improperly importing nonhazardous frog material is a fine of up to $500, not denying someone re-entry into the country.

The pending federal lawsuit describes Petrova’s fears of being deported to Russia.

Romanovsky said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services hasn’t expedited an interview for Petrova can demonstrate her fear of deportation to Russia is credible and qualify for release from detention.

What are people saying about Petrova?

A GoFundMe campaign set up by a colleague says Petrova “fled persecution in Russia for protesting (without destruction or violence) the war in Ukraine.”

One friend wrote on instagram that Petrova is a “beloved colleague and friend, known for her bubbly personality, intelligence, and work ethic,” and that she left Russia due to her opposition to the war in Ukraine, which put her at risk of imprisonment.

Romanovsky wrote in the complaint he had concerns about Petrova being transferred “On information and belief, ICE may transfer [her] to Guantanamo Bay,” he wrote.

Petrova moved to the U.S. in April 2023 on a valid J-1 visa for researchers to work at Harvard Medical School. The school confirmed she is a research associate there, and said it’s “monitoring this situation.” She’s traveled in and out of the country since.

She’s currently being held at the Richwood ICE Processing Center in Louisiana, after initially being held in Vermont. Romanovsky is working with Brookline-based National Immigration Litigation Alliance for Petrova’s release.