Petula N. McShiras

Biography

Biography

Petula McShiras is a Senior Immigration Attorney with Kolko & Casey, PC. Licensed since October 2011, Petula has dedicated her legal career to immigration law and advocating for immigrant rights. She brings a broad range of experiences to Kolko & Casey, PC, from working as an Attorney Advisor to the Denver Immigration Court, to non-profit immigration work and private law firm work. While specializing in family-based immigration and naturalization, she also has extensive experience in business immigration, religious worker visas, and special immigrant juvenile petitions, including obtaining the requisite state predicate order.

She earned her law degree from the University of Denver, where she was the Sutton Editor of the Denver Journal of International Law and Policy, a Chancellor Scholar, and graduated with honors. Prior to joining private practice, Petula worked as an Attorney Advisor for EOIR and as the director for the Littleton Immigrant Resources Center. Ms. McShiras earned her B.A. in Political Science and Peace Studies from the University of Notre Dame in 2005.

Petula has successfully presented cases before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS, the Department of State (DOS), the Department of Labor (DOL), and El Paso County District Court for state predicate orders on behalf of unaccompanied minors.  Petula has presented both locally and nationally on naturalization, cancellation of removal, the unauthorized practice of law, and the intersection of immigration law and other areas of law.  She is a member of the Colorado Bar Association, El Paso County Bar Association, and The Ben S. Wendelken Inn of Court.

She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). She currently serves as the Chair of the Colorado Chapter of American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) from June 2022 to May 2023.

Petula is a former citizen of India, who immigrated to the United States at a young age. She studied abroad in France and enjoys traveling. When not practicing law, Petula enjoys hiking, snowshoeing, and spending time in the mountains with her family.