Mahsa Khanbabai | مهسا خان بابائی

About Mahsa Khanbabai

Mahsa Khanbabai has dedicated her legal career to immigration and naturalization issues, representing individual, nonprofit, educational and business clients. Attorney Mahsa Khanbabai assists clients with employment visas, family petitions, and citizenship applications, as well as other immigration related matters. A significant part of Mahsa’s practice is devoted to assisting foreign dental students, international medical graduates with J-1 Waiver issues, and Nurse Schedule A applications. Mahsa Khanbabai has a focus on assisting entrepreneurs and other employment related work visa matters.

Memberships

Mahsa Khanbabai has been an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) for 25 years and is an elected Director of AILA’s Board of Governors. Attorney Khanbabai serves on several committees and was appointed as Co-Chair of the AILA Afghan Response Taskforce in 2021 to help oversee the legal related issues that have arisen as a result of the crisis in Afghanistan. She is a regular presenter at AILA conferences on physician immigration, humanitarian visas, and consular related matters.

American Immigration Lawyers Association

• AILA USCIS Liaison Committee
• AILA DEI Committee
• AILA New England Congressional Committee
• AILA New England DEI Committee
• Former Liaison roles: State Department Liaison, Waiver Review Division Liaison, Customs and Border Protection Liaison, and Afghan Response Taskforce Co-chair
• Past Chapter Chair, AILA New England

International Medical Graduate Taskforce (IMGT)

• IMGT government liaison committee

Boston Bar Association

New England Muslim Bar Association

National Association of Muslim Lawyers (Former At Large Board member)

Iranian American Bar Association

USA 500

In her capacity as a member of the AILA New England Congressional Liaison committee she works closely with congressional offices to advise on legislative policy and as a CBP Liaison worked with CBP officials on issues related to visa entry at airport and border posts. Mahsa Khanbabai is an active member of the International Medical Graduate Taskforce, an association of immigration attorneys specializing in physician related immigration and played an instrumental role in helping expand the HHS J1 waiver program in 2021.

Media

Attorney Khanbabai is a frequent lecturer on issues involving immigrants and the immigration process and has presented seminars for companies, organizations and community organization.  She is regularly interviewed by news agencies such as NPR, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, NYT, MSNBC, and others. Her legal advocacy and strategic use of the media spotlight has led to numerous high impact immigration changes including the reinstatement of Deferred Action. She travels worldwide, with a focus on the Middle East, working with law firms that need specialized immigration counsel.

Attorney Khanbabai authored extensive article on international medical graduates and the J-1 Waiver process for the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education annual publication on Immigration Law. Mahsa Khanbabai was a contributing editor to Ms. Magazine writing on immigration issues and on the Board of Editors for the AILA Law Journal.

Community & Society

An avid supporter of her community, Attorney Khanbabai serves on the SAVE the Children Boston Leadership Council, and on the Town of Easton’s Human Resources Board.  She is a former board member of her alma mater Wilbraham and Monson Academy and previously served on the executive board of the MetroSouth Chamber of Commerce and the Massachusetts Governor’s Advisory Council on Refugees and Immigrants.

Background

Attorney Khanbabai was born in Iran and raised in Western Massachusetts. As an immigrant whose father was a J1 physician, she is personally familiar with the hardships the immigration process can present.  In addition to her native language of English, she speaks Farsi and learned conversational Turkish while spending a year working in Turkey.

Education

Albany Law School, JD cum laude, 1998
Union College, BA, 1993

Admissions

• 1999, Massachusetts

• MA Federal District Court

Areas of Special Focus

• MIT Sandbox Advisor on entrepreneur immigration issues

Khanbabai Immigration Law

Our office only practices immigration law. We offer a full range of immigration services assisting corporate and individual clients with obtaining green cards, employment based visas, citizenship applications, adoptions, student visas, as well as other immigration matters.

Khanbabai Immigration Law has a strong consular practice working with clients from the Global South with visa applications at US embassies worldwide, but with a particular focus on the Middle East and Africa. Individuals from these countries face a more complex and difficult visa process at embassies that are typically under resourced with many months or years of delays compared to embassies in Europe.

We have expertise in advising and representing hospitals, clinics, and international medical graduates with J-1 visa issues and other immigration matters. Our special interest and years of experience in physician related business immigration allows us to facilitate our clients’ employment and immigration needs.

U.S. Immigration Law is federal law, which allows our office to provide services to clients throughout the 50 States and 2 Territories, as well as legal representation before the U.S. embassies abroad. We appear with clients for interviews and hearings before the Citizenship and Immigration Service and American consulates.