Kripa Upadhyay

• Family Based Immigration
• Employment Based Immigration
• Investor Based Immigration

Kripa Upadhyay’s practice focuses on immigration law. She works closely with international investors, human resources and global mobility professionals to optimize their companies’ immigration programs. Kripa assists clients in guiding strategies for recruiting and retaining foreign talent, and providing immigration plans for international mergers and acquisitions.

She helps companies address the challenges of U.S. immigration compliance, and has worked with major corporations to build out compliant immigration visa programs securing a variety of short term and long term visas/residency for their global employees.

Kripa is a frequent speaker on immigration matters before the Association of Immigration Lawyers of America (AILA), the Washington State Bar Association(WSBA), other industry leading professional associations.

Named a “Rising Star” for Immigration Law  2014-2018, consecutively, she is an active member of AILA’s National committee for EB-5 (investor based immigration) as well as AILA’S Washington State Chapter where she has served on various committees in leadership positions.  Kripa is also actively involved with, and a frequent speaker at, seminars and conferences organized by Invest in the USA (IIUSA); America’s leading investor based immigration trade association.

A first generation immigrant from Nepal, Kripa speaks English, Nepali, Hindi, Urdu and Spanish.

• Interview by The Times of India: USCIS portal for E-registration of H-1B applications facers outage, March 2023
• Interview by Bloomberg Law: Tech Industry Layoffs Mean Added Headaches for H-1B Workers, 2022
• Kripa is actively involved with, and a frequent speaker at, National and International seminars and conferences organized by Invest in the USA (IIUSA); America’s leading investor based immigration trade association.
• She is also a frequent speaker at local and regional conferences organized by the American Immigration Lawyers association (AILA).

• Washington State Bar Association
• American Immigration Lawyers Association- AILA (Washington State chapter), Member
  • AILA National EB-5 Committee, Member (2020 – 2021)
  • Executive Committee, Chair of Programs  (2015-May 2016)
  • Continuing Legal Education Committee, Chair (2013-2015)
  • Continuing Legal Education Committee, Vice Chair (2012- 2013)
  • Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)Committee, Chair (2011–2012)
  • Citizenship Day Committee, Chair (2009-2010)
  • Citizenship Day Committee,Vice Chair (2008–2009)
• The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), Charter Member (2013–present)
• Empower Nepali Girls (Registered 501(c)(3) Organization, Board Member

• Washington State Bar
• Washington State Supreme Court
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Washington
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

• J.D., Seattle University School of Law
• B.A., California State University, Long Beach

• Actively engaged in educating newly arriving immigrants and refugees as to their rights and responsibilities in the U.S., Kripa was awarded the Washington State Bar Association’s (WSBA) Community Service Award in 2011, recognizing her outstanding and exemplary service in helping immigrants and refugees in Washington State.
• Kripa was named Rising Star by Super Lawyers magazine for every year from 2014 – 2018.

Nepali, Hindi, Urdu and Spanish