Petula N. McShiras

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.

Petula earned her B.A. in Political Science and Peace Studies from the University of Notre Dame in 2005 and 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.

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, H-1B, 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 Ben S. Wendelken Inn of Court.

She is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), serving both on the Colorado Executive Committee as well as an Elected Director for the National Board of Governors.

Petula is a former citizen of India, and 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.

Professional Activities

• Member of The Ben S. Wendelken Inn of Court
• Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) Volunteer
• American Immigration Lawyers Association, 2013 – Present
  • AILA Membership Committee 2024
  • AILA Annual Conference 2025 Planning Committee
• Elected Director, AILA National Board of Governors, November 2023 to present
• American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)– Colorado Chapter
  • Colorado Chapter Executive Committee Immediate Past Chapter Chair 2023 – 2024
  • Colorado Chapter Executive Committee Chair 2022 – 2023

Honors and Awards

• Chapter Chair Award, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)– Colorado Chapter (May 2023)
• Pro Bono Award, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)– Colorado Chapter (2018)

Selected Publications

• Guest Editor, Colorado Springs Gazette, Christian Asylum Seekers Waiting in Limbo, July 23, 2022
• Tsankov, Mimi E. and McShiras, Petula, Domestic Violence Protections for Unauthorized Migrant Victims in Colorado: A Federal – State Partnership, 91 DENV. U.L. REV. 617 (2014)

Selected Speaking Engagements

• Panelist, AILA National Family AILA Roundtable: Preparing for Family Immigration in the Trump Administration, November 15, 2024
• 2024 AILA Rocky Mountain Fall Conference, “Zombie Laws and Skeletons in the Closet: Reanimating Laws Without Getting Eaten Alive”, November 1, 2024
• Presenter, AILA National Annual Conference, Naturalization: When to File, When to Wait, and When not to File, June 12-June 15, 2024
• Presenter, AILA Minnesota/North Dakota Upper Midwest Immigration Conference, Naturalization and Derivative/Acquisition of Citizenship, May 17, 2024
• Presenter, AILA Web Seminar, Straight to Citizenship: No Naturalization Required, forthcoming November 30, 2023
• Faculty, AILA University, Naturalization Online Course, Fall 2023
• Presenter, AILA National Annual Conference, Ethically Building and Keeping a Book of Clients: Laying the Framework with Family-Based Clients, June 21-June 24, 2023