Top Tiktoker leaves the US voluntarily after overstaying visa.
Khaby Lame, the world’s top TikTok star, was detained briefly by US immigration officials in Las Vegas before leaving the country voluntarily, authorities said on Saturday.
Lame, an Italian citizen, was detained at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on Friday for immigration violations but was released the same day, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a statement.
Lame, 25, entered the US on 30 April and “overstayed the terms of his visa,” ICE stated, confirming that he departed the US following his brief detention.
The incident was first brought to public attention by conservative social media activist Bo Loudon, a friend of US president Donald Trump’s son Barron, who claimed to have reported Lame to immigration authorities.
With more than 162 million followers, Lame shot to fame during the covid pandemic for his short videos in which he silently mocks overly-complicated “life hack” tips accompanied by his trademark hand gesture of upturned palms.
Born in Senegal, Lame became an Italian citizen in 2022 in Chivasso, northern Italy, where he has lived since he was a baby.
After losing his job in a factory in 2020, Lame turned to TikTok and developed his natural gift of making people laugh.
He relies on comedic facial expressions and heavy use of irony in his videos most of which are delivered without speaking, meaning the humour is understood universally.
Prior to obtaining Italian citizenship, Lame stated that as the holder of a Senegalese passport it was more difficult for him to visit the US where he had missed several events over delays in getting a visa.
His brush with US immigration agents comes as Italy holds a contentious referendum on whether the waiting time for non-EU citizens to become eligible to apply for Italian citizenship via residency should be cut from the current 10 years down to five.
Photo credit: GIO_LE / Shutterstock.com.
