MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - JULY 22: British rapper 21 Savage performs onstage during day two of Rolling Loud Miami at Hard Rock Stadium on July 22, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Jason Koerner/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Rapper 21 Savage can now legally travel outside the United States and plans to make his international performance in his native London.
Savage’s lawyer, Charles Kuck, told The Associated Press in a statement Friday that his client has officially become a permanent U.S. resident and may now go overseas. He cleared a major traveling hurdle after being taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Georgia in 2019.
Kuck said the Grammy winner followed "all applicable immigration laws since his initial detention by ICE."
"His immigration court proceedings have now been terminated and he is a lawful permanent resident of the United States with the freedom to travel internationally," Kuck said.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JUNE 17: Cardi B and 21 Savage perform during HOT 107.9's Birthday Bash 2023 at State Farm Arena on June 17, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Prince Williams/WireImage)
Savage, 30, whose given name is She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, spent 10 days in a detention center in southern Georgia before his release. He was arrested in a targeted operation over his visa, which expired in 2006.
The Atlanta-based rapper said he had no idea what a visa was when his mother brought him to the U.S. at 7 years old. He said in a 2019 interview with the AP that immigrants like him who lived in America illegally as children should automatically become U.S. citizens.
Savage said the visa application process discourages many immigrants who don’t have documents because it "hangs over your head forever."
Savage made his announcement about returning to London via social media but did not give details.