Kashmiri filmmaker Arfat Sheikh was released from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody on Thursday after being granted bond, although his deportation case remains ongoing, with the next hearing scheduled for October 27, according to a campaign led by his friends and relatives.

Sheikh, an award-winning filmmaker whose work explores conflict in Indian-administered Kashmir, was detained on September 24 as he disembarked from a flight at Dulles International Airport near Washington, DC, after travelling from California.

A statement from the campaign said Sheikh was released two days after being granted bond. His detention came as ICE stepped up arrests across the US.

The 42-year-old lives in Alexandria, Virginia. He entered the US on a student visa in 2019 to pursue graduate studies in film at Georgia State University and filed for asylum in 2020.

According to the campaign, Sheikh had a pending asylum application and was authorised to live and work in the US.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed on Wednesday that Sheikh had been arrested on September 24. The department said he had “legally entered the US on a temporary basis and illegally overstayed his lawful admittance”.

DHS added that a pending asylum application did not confer legal status in the country and said Sheikh would receive due process.

Sheikh’s first feature film, Saffron Kingdom, received multiple awards, including best feature film at the Chicago Filmmakers Awards, Los Angeles Film and Documentary Awards, Melbourne Independent Film Festival, Wake Forest Film Festival and Anatolian International Film Awards.

In 2025, he received the emerging filmmaker activist award at the Teaneck International Film Festival.

His detention came amid a surge in ICE arrests across the US, with about 50,000 arrests recorded in July and August, reaching record levels over the summer.

In August, US President Donald Trump’s administration said it was working “to identify and revoke the non-immigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the US claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently”.

Although Sheikh has been released from custody, his deportation proceedings remain ongoing, with the next hearing set for October 27, according to the campaign.