PORTLAND – Two Pakistanis apprehended on South Main Street in Brewer on March 18 after a statewide manhunt each have been released on $2,500 bond, according to an immigration official.

“It’s still an ongoing investigation,” Dawn Alley, spokesman for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Monday.

“They were served with notice to appear at a future date that will be set by the immigration court. They have been released.”

The Pakistani man and woman will stand trial at the Boston Immigration Court before a federal immigration judge for illegal presence in the country, “probably several months from now,” according to Alley. The court falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice.

Alley would not release the names of the couple because of privacy rights and the ongoing investigation.

The interim district director for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Maria Hurley, said the duo is in the United States illegally. A visitor’s visa for one of the two Pakistanis expired in 1999 and a similar visa for the other person expired in 2001.

“They haven’t been convicted of any crime,” said Alley. “They remained in the U.S., beyond their date without authorization from the INS [Immigration and Naturalization Service].”

After being detained, the couple were transported to the Penobscot County Jail in Bangor and later to the Department of Homeland Security in Portland. After questioning, both were released on March 20.

The plight of the couple started when they hailed a taxi, apparently driven by a friend of Middle Eastern descent, in New York City and traveled to Maine. The trio was spotted in Augusta filling the taxi’s gas tank and was reported to authorities. The Maine Department of Public Safety then issued a statewide Teletype looking for the vehicle in an attempt to identify the occupants. After the taxicab was stopped, the driver was released because he is a U.S. citizen.

After the duo appears before the immigration judge, several outcomes could occur.

“They can either depart voluntarily or they can be processed for deportation,” said Alley. “If they’re in illegal status they may not have an appeal to that.”

Voluntary departure enables the accused to leave the country at their own expense within a time limit specified by the immigration judge and allows the person to re-enter the United States if the proper visa for re-entry is obtained.

If the couple is given an order of deportation or removal, they will be barred from re-entering the United States. This could be for a period of years from the date of removal.

The only way they could legally re-enter the country is by receiving a waiver from the U.S. government.