from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs in 1986 after completing a 132-page-long senior thesis titled "New Roads for Old Objectives: The Compact of Free Association with the Micronesian Islands and its Applicability to the Future of the Puerto Rico - United States Relationship.

In May 1986, Bhatia was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study law, economics and politics in Santiago, Chile, for one year.

[7] After graduating, Bhatia worked for a year as a judicial officer for Judge Levin H. Campbell, at the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston, Massachusetts.

From 1991 to 1992, he was the Chief of Staff for Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Jaime Fuster in Washington, D.C. From 1993 to 1995, Bhatia worked as a lawyer for the San Juan-based law firm McConnell Valdés.

As member of numerous Senatorial committees and spokesperson for his party, his efforts were focused toward increasing employment and educational opportunities for Puerto Rico's youth.

An example was the introduction of a bill with Sen. Kenneth McClintock to improve financial education in public schools, which was vetoed by Gov.

[11] A political analyst acknowledged his hard work by calling Mr. Bhatia "Puerto Rico's top senator.

[7] In January 2005, Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá appointed Bhatia as Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration in Washington, D.C. As such, Bhatia represented the Governor on matters before state and federal agencies as well as before Congress and the Executive branch.

He had also been working in special projects that will help increase economic growth in Puerto Rico's rural areas.

[17] His mother, Carmen, was a Puerto Rican while his father, Mohinder, was of Punjabi Sikh heritage hailing from Mirpur (in today's Pakistan) who migrated to India in 1947.