About Kelsey Beckner

Kelsey Beckner started her immigration law practice to help immigrants in her community gain or continue in legal immigration status in the United States.  Kelsey grew up in Mount Vernon, Washington, in the agricultural Skagit Valley, and has seen throughout her life how immigrants are a vital part of the our country's past, present and future.  

An International Perspective

Kelsey brings to her practice a lifelong passion for understanding other cultures and helping people from diverse backgrounds.  Kelsey has served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Turkmenistan, lived as an exchange student in Germany and Greece, and worked on international refugee programs in Latin America and the former Soviet Union with HIAS. 

Experience

Kelsey has represented clients at all stages of immigration proceedings.  She has assisted clients at asylum interviews, in immigration court, before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  She has represented clients detained at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington as well as non-detained clients. 

Education

Kelsey earned her JD from the University of Washington School of Law, where she participated in the Immigration Law Clinic and advocated for immigrants in removal proceedings and seeking asylum.   Prior to law school, Kelsey earned a Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.  

Memberships
  • Washington State Bar Association
  • State Bar of New York
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington
  • American Immigration Lawyers’ Association
  • National Immigration Project of the National Lawyer's Guild
  • Federal Bar Association
Volunteer Work
  • Pro Bono Attorney for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP)
  • Pro Bono Attorney for the University of Washington Immigrant Families Advocacy Project (IFAP)
  • Pro Bono Attorney for Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)
  • Volunteer at OneAmerica's Citizenship Day