Dr. Suha Abushamma

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Cleveland Clinic internal medicine resident with a passport from Sudan returned to the U.S. Monday after being detained at an airport in New York last month and sent back to Saudi Arabia under President Donald Trump's immigration ban.

Dr. Suha Abushamma, 26, landed in New York on Monday and was allowed through to enter the United States and back to Cleveland. Those who spoke at a news conference Tuesday to announce her return, which the Clinic withheld from the public so it could announce it in a feel-good fashion, said colleagues and her attorneys were on hand to greet her at the airport.

David Leopold, a local immigration attorney who worked on her case, said a Washington federal judge's decision to halt part of Trump's order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries allowed her to return.

"What we saw in the last 72 hours was a window. And we grabbed it," Leopold said.

Fellow doctors who attended the news conference applauded Abushamma, who donned her white Clinic lab coat. She thanked the Clinic and her attorneys for helping get her home.

"While this has been a challenge for me in many ways, today I'm feeling much gratitude and I'm looking forward to getting back to work and putting patients first," she said.

Abushamma landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Jan. 28 after traveling to Saudi Arabia for a vacation. She was detained by immigration officials for hours before they put her on a plane back to the Middle East.

Abushamma, a Muslim who has a passport from Sudan, said in a previous interview that she came back from her vacation early because she heard that Trump was going to sign the order that went into effect on Jan. 27.

She said in a lawsuit that she was "misled and coerced" into signing forms withdrawing her work visa, which she obtained to work at the Clinic. She also said immigration officials loaded her onto a plane and that the plane took off after a New York judge halted the removal of those entering the country.

Abushamma dropped her lawsuit on Tuesday. Jennifer Kroman, an attorney who worked on the case, said Abushamma received a visa waiver, which essentially reinstated it and allows her to enter and work in the United States.

Absuhamma said her parents are also doctors. She also has a fiance who works at a hospital in Detroit.

Spokeswoman Eileen Sheil said during the news conference that the Clinic is "trying to stay out of the politics" of Trump's order, though it cannot escape the political implications associated with CEO Toby Cosgrove's ties to Trump and a scheduled fundraiser at a Florida resort owned by the president.

Cosgrove also serves on a panel that advises the president on economic issues, and was under consideration to be the head of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Throughout it all, Kroman and Leopold said Abushamma remained upbeat and helpful, even as her situation seemed dire.

"I think residency prepared her to stay up all night, because every time we sent her a text or an email seeking information, no matter what time of the night, we got an immediate response," Kroman said.

Cleveland Clinic Dr. Suha Abushama returns to United States 5 Gallery: Cleveland Clinic Dr. Suha Abushama returns to United States