Najia is a business immigration lawyer dedicated to helping employers mobilize global talent. An immigrant herself, Najia is the firm’s first attorney focusing entirely on immigration law. She leads Wiggin and Dana’s Business Immigration and Compliance Practice and is a member of wiggin(x), the firm’s division focused on emerging entities and entrepreneurs. Najia also serves as Co-Chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, a role through which she works to ensure all firm professionals receive equitable access to meaningful work opportunities and mentorship.

Najia is often regarded as “in-house” immigration counsel for sophisticated employers seeking to navigate U.S. business immigration laws and the intersection of related employment, tax, corporate, and other regulatory areas. She partners with clients and offers holistic solutions to meet the international workforce needs of employers across industries, with particular attention to multinational entities, emerging companies, franchisors, and research/educational institutions. 

With strong acumen for short-term and long-term strategy from a compliance lens, Najia is known for her ability to successfully advise clients through the establishment of new entities and immigration sponsorship policies; the recruiting and onboarding work authorization analysis for employment candidates; I-9 and E-Verify processes; due diligence, immigration liability valuation, and pre- and post-closing compliance for M&A transactions; and the global transfer of both executives and employees. She represents employers in connection with nonimmigrant and immigrant visa petitions and labor certification applications, and she provides counsel for adjustment of status and citizenship applications, consular processing and immigration interviews, and government requests for evidence/audits. Najia assists with limited private client services (e.g., international citizenship, family-based cases, traveler benefits/redress).

Najia is a James W. Cooper Fellow of the Connecticut Bar Foundation, a Benchmark Litigation Labor and Employment Star, and a National Law Review Go-To Thought Leader. She completed the inaugural TerraLex Leadership Program as a Wiggin and Dana representative in the global legal referral network. She was also recognized by the Connecticut Law Tribune for its inaugural Diversity Initiative Legal Award and named to the Lawyers of Color Hot List for 2022.

A sought-after speaker, Najia has been a featured panelist at the American Immigration Lawyers Association annual national conference. She presents at Wiggin and Dana’s in-house events and at client workshops. Najia participates in student outreach and entrepreneurial initiatives through PowerBridgeNY and FWD.org at educational institutions such as New York University and Columbia University. She also speaks to affinity groups and clients about inclusion, diversity, and equity; ethno-racial and religious identities; and her perspectives as a lawyer parent.

Najia is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and serves on committees for its New York and Connecticut Chapters, including being Founder and Chair of the Connecticut Corporate Practice Committee. She is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association and serves on several of its committees; the South Asian Bar Association of Connecticut (Board of Directors 2015-2020); the South Asian Bar Association of New York; and the Muslim Bar Association of New York. 

Najia obtained her law degree from Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University (formerly Pace University School of Law). While in law school, Najia devoted time to the Immigration Justice Clinic and represented indigent immigrants in complex removal proceedings, including immigration raid detainees, women with claims under the Violence Against Women Act, and asylees seeking immigration relief in the United States. She continues similar work on a pro bono basis. She was also employed by the world’s largest immigration firm prior to attending and during law school, where she gained significant experience in business immigration matters that laid the foundation for building her practice.

Najia obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. She is fluent in spoken Hindi and Urdu.