Bhatia's family is originally from Uttar Pradesh,[5] but he was born in Washington D.C. His father is a retired official for the World Bank and of Indian descent, moving to the United States in the 1960s.

[5] Bhatia also worked many pro bono cases including representing victims of the Oklahoma City bombing during the trials of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.

[5] In addition to his work as an attorney, Bhatia was an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center where he co-taught international civil litigation[7] from 1999 until 2003.

[5] Bhatia was nominated by President George W. Bush in September 2003 for the position of Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Aviation and International Affairs.

[15] It was announced that Bhatia would be leaving the U.S. Trade Representative's Office and returning to the private sector, becoming the Vice President and Senior Counsel of International Law & Policy for General Electric in 2008.

[1] During his first year in the position, he incorporated “government affairs” into his division's name, placing it before “public policy” to emphasize relationship building over the production of white paper reports.