Anu Peshawaria's Story
Anu Peshawaria was born in Amritsar, India in 1961, the youngest of four daughters. Her elder sister is Kiran Bedi.
Growing up, Anu understood the value of charity. The Peshawaria family was involved in more than 200 years of charity across India. To this day, there are Peshawaria dharamshalas for pilgrims that are over 200 years old. These are family values that led her down her future path.
In 1979, Anu became Former India’s No. 1 Women's Tennis Champion and was invited to compete at Wimbledon.
Not only did Anu find success on the tennis court, one year later in 1980 she graduated from University of Delhi with a Political Science & Economics Degree and soon after earned her LLB degree in Law from the University of Delhi, Law Center in 1983.
At the turn of the Millenium, her wide-ranging achievements began garnering notoriety and subsequently Anu was granted Alien of Extraordinary Ability status in the year 2000 by the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the U.S. for exemplary athletic, human rights, and legal/social achievements.
Interested in making an instant impact on U.S. soil, Anu immediately started SevA Legal Aid, a non-profit organization with a mission to make the immigrant community in the U.S. aware of issues concerning U.S. laws, social issues, frauds, and domestic violence. SevA Legal Aid has already held workshops on Immigration laws and procedures, Indian matrimonial issues and Patents Law, empowering common people in topics and issues that touch them in everyday life.
SevA Legal Aid Archives
Eager to continue broadening her horizons, she completed her Cyber Law Program in 2000 and got her U.S. Laws Certification in 2003, both awarded by Santa Clara University in California. To round out her education, Anu then completed her Executive Management Program from Stanford University.
New immigrants often face socioeconomic, matrimonial, and cultural problems so Anu continues to bridge the gap between this critical need and provide an essential service for people across the US, China, Vietnam, India, Fiji, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Pakistan.
With her wealth of knowledge in the legal realm, Peshawaria has dedicated her life to staying in the U.S. to tackle Immigration and Women's issues after seeing the plight of those affected by physical and emotional abuse. Through her work she has documented their isolation, dependence and mental and physical abuse so far from home, family and support systems.
In recognition of her accomplishments, the Government of India saw fit to appoint Anu their first legal advisor appointed to the U.S. Embassy in Washington D.C.
Today, Anu Peshawaria is an internationally recognized Indian-American U.S. immigration law advisor, author, activist, and philanthropist who is devoted to the advocacy and protection of legal rights on a global scale.
Outside of her professional life, Anu remained deeply committed to her family and raising her son. Today, he is following in the footsteps of his mother and trailblazing a successful legal career of his own.
Anu Peshawaria's Life in Photos
