Kjerstin Lewis Shukla

Kjerstin Lewis Shukla (she/her/ella) is the Founder and Managing Attorney of Immigrant Forward Legal Solutions. Her career is devoted to aiding immigrants and their families in finding safety, stability, and opportunity in the United States.

Kjerstin's journey in immigration law began in 2014 as a legal assistant, where she discovered her passion for advocacy and cross-cultural engagement. By 2016, she became a Department of Justice accredited representative, directly representing immigrants and their families in a non-profit setting. This experience led her to pursue a full-time legal education, building on her hands-on community-based work to become an immigration attorney.

Throughout her career, Kjerstin has assisted hundreds of clients with a wide range of immigration issues, including family-based petitions, adjustment of status, DACA, hardship waivers, and U visa applications. Her practice encompasses both affirmative representation before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Department of State, as well as defensive representation in removal proceedings before the Immigration Court. She is particularly passionate about crafting robust strategies and compelling personal narratives for complex hardship cases, such as waivers and cancellation of removal.

Beyond her client work, Kjerstin has contributed as a presenter for World Relief’s 40 Hour Training courses, addressing topics like adjustment of status, conditional residency, naturalization, visa petitions, waivers, and practice management.

Kjerstin is fluent in English and Spanish and is licensed to practice law in North Carolina. She is also authorized to practice in the federal courts of the Western District of North Carolina (W.D.N.C.).