Atlanta rapper, 21 Savage was on Sunday arrested by US immigration officials.
The rapper, Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, came to the US in July 2005 aged 12 and failed to leave when his visa expired a year later, officials said.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesman said he was being held for removal proceedings.
A CNN reporter quoted an ICE spokesman as saying: “His whole public persona is false. He actually came to the U.S. from the U.K. as a teen and overstayed his visa.”
ICE is reportedly holding 21 Savage in the state of Georgia for being unlawfully present in the US and for being a felon. He was convicted of drugs charges in 2014.
Officials are waiting for a judge’s ruling before deciding how to proceed.
TMZ quoted his lawyer Dina LaPolt as saying she was trying to get the rapper out of detention “while we work with authorities to clear up any misunderstanding”.
“Mr Abraham-Joseph is a role model to the young people in the country – especially in Atlanta, Georgia and is actively working in the community leading programs to help underprivileged youths in financial literacy,” she added.