Mohan Sinha
14 Jun 2025

LAS VEGAS, Nevada: Khaby Lame, the most followed person on TikTok with millions of fans, has left the United States after being held by immigration officers in Las Vegas. He was reportedly detained for staying in the country longer than his visa allowed.

Lame, whose full name is Seringe Khabane Lame, is a Senegalese-Italian influencer. He was held late last week at Harry Reid International Airport. However, he was allowed to leave the U.S. without receiving a deportation order, according to a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

ICE said Lame arrived in the U.S. on April 30 and stayed longer than the visa permitted. The Associated Press tried to contact him by sending a message to the email address on his Instagram profile. He has not made any public statement about his detention.

Lame's detention and his voluntary exit from the U.S. happened at the same time President Donald Trump has been increasing his actions against immigration. This includes immigration raids in Los Angeles, which led to several days of protests against ICE. The president is also testing how far his powers can go on immigration matters.

Lame was granted a "voluntary departure," which allows a person to leave the U.S. without having a formal deportation order. This helps avoid having a record that could block them from coming back to the U.S. for up to ten years.

The 25-year-old became globally famous during the COVID-19 pandemic by silently reacting to overly complicated "life hack" videos. He never spoke in his videos, which made him unique and very popular. He now has more than 162 million followers on TikTok alone.

Lame was born in Senegal and moved to Italy as a baby with his working-class parents. He has Italian citizenship.

His internet success grew quickly. In 2022, he signed a long-term deal with the fashion brand Hugo Boss. In January, he was also named a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF.

He attended the Met Gala in New York City just last month, days after arriving in the U.S.