so what happens if a U visa is approved while outside of the country?

So my aunt has a lawyer and they are trying to eventually get her out of her EWI status (only 1 EWI, no other re-entrances) via the U visa route. They filed the application back around fall 2017 and received a bonafide determination in 2022 along with the 4-year EAD card (set to expire in 2026) but still have not received a decision on their actual U visa application or an actual U visa. It's been about 8 years of waiting but according to her lawyer he hasn't received any actual decision yet at his office or seen any movement on his end

My understanding is that she would get her U visa, reside in America for at least 3 years after, and then a pathway opens up to eventual residency. And my understanding is that these specific types of visas supposedly can take upwards of 10 years to get approved or denied. It's also my understanding that the visa can be approved even if the petitioner is outside of the country

The question I was wondering about is - with the current regime trying to remove all sorts of people who were already waiting on a "pending" application or petition (example: asylum applicants with a "pending" application suddenly getting arrested outside immigration courtrooms) - HOW would things play out if she happened to get detained/kidnapped by Trump's masked thugs during the current 4 year term and her pending U visa application was approved while she was out of the country?

With the actual visa in-hand, would she be able to come back? Or would the 10 year ban make even having a valid visa pointless?

I guess I was just wondering about how the two interact given the specific details provided above (automatic 10 year ban for leaving the country versus having a valid visa). Just really bad timing sadly, at 8 years she was almost at the finish line for getting a decision - only for the 2024 election to happen right in the middle of the wait