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Dan H. Berger Esq.

Partner

Bio

Dan Berger is a Partner at Green & Spiegel, U.S. leading the Academic and Medical Immigration Team. He is an Academic Fellow at Cornell Law School, and on the Legal Advisory Board and the Board of Directors of the Presidents’ Alliance on Immigration & Higher Education, and on the Legal Advisory Council of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (largest bipartisan congressional caucus). Dan also advises the Talent Mobility Fund on STEM immigration issues, and the new International Student Resource Center.
He is a frequent writer and speaker on immigration, including after the 2020 election for the Brookings Institute on recommendations for the Biden/Harris Administration and also on strategies to support international entrepreneurs. He co-edited an updated edition of Immigration Options for Academics and Researchers. He also wrote an Issue Brief for the American Council on Education (ACE) in 2016 (updated 2021 and 2026), and was a co-author on a “Note” on academic immigration for the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA).
Dan has recently co-authored an essay in the Chronicle of Higher Education on preparing for ICE visits on campuses, and an opinion piece in the Hill about historical trends in immigration policy.
In 2023, AILA awarded Dan the “President’s Commendation” for “exemplary service to the President and AILA,” including on the USCIS Headquarters Liaison Committee, writing practice advisories, serving on the AILA Afghanistan Taskforce (a rapid response effort to help Afghans after the Taliban takeover), and being on the editorial board of the AILA Law Journal.
Dan has a particular focus on DACA and undocumented students, evaluating options for longer term status. He advises thedream.us (nation’s largest private scholarship fund with over 10,000 scholarships in ten years to Dreamers).  Dan co-founded and helps lead an innovative DACA clinic at Cornell focused on employment-based options, as described in this Boston Globe article. Last year, he helped lead a pilot program for President Biden’s waiver program for Dreamers to move into status through employer-sponsorship, as described in this New York Times article. Dan was invited to the White House for the June 2024 announcement as recognition of his role in the process.
He was until recently an immigration law adviser on an NIH grant on the use of DNA technology in immigration, and co-authored a peer reviewed article in Science on the use of DNA technology to address family separation at the border.
Dan developed his interest in immigration in college at Harvard, where he studied immigration history and taught English to adult refugees.  He graduated from Cornell Law School and has practiced immigration law for over 25 years.
  • A.B.. in History, Harvard College, 1989
  • J.D., Cornell Law School, 1996
  • Member, Massachusetts Bar, 1998
  • Member, American Immigration Lawyers’ Association, 1998-present
  • Honorary Fellow, American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, 2016-present
  • Legal Advisory Board, Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) – bipartisan congressional adoption caucus
  • Liaison Committee, US government agencies, 2000-present
  • Invited presentations on visa options for international students and scholars at Harvard Law School, MIT (postdocs), Eastman School of Music, NYU, Yale University (arts, music, graduate students, entrepreneurs), University of Connecticut Health Center (medical residents and fellows), Brown University (entrepreneurs and international students), Smith College, Amherst College, Mt. Holyoke College, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Wesleyan, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Georgia Athens, Bucknell University, Middlebury College, Dartmouth College, University of New Hampshire Durham, Columbia University, Princeton University (graduate students and entrepreneurs) University of Michigan, University of Connecticut, American Museum of Natural History, Marine Biological Laboratory
  • Numerous other invited presentations and panel discussions for Council For Global Immigration (now SHRM), Center for Adoption Policy at Duke Law School, NAFSA, AILA, Federal Bar Association Immigration Section, National Association of College and University Attorneys (including “Ask the Pros” open Q&A after the 2016 election), American Association of Universities Council on Federal Relations, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, Williams College Claiming Williams Day, Wellesley College and Smith College School for Social Work
  • President’s Commendation for “Exemplary Service”, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), 2023
  • National Distinguished Service Award, National Association of Foreign Student Advisers (NAFSA), 2026
  • Region XI Sally M. Heim Award, National Association of Foreign Student Advisers (NAFSA), 2015
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Life After UMass: Immigration Discussion

Immigration attorney Dan Berger from the leading immigration law firm, Green & Spiegel, will join representatives from the UMass Office of Global Affairs to discuss a variety of longer-term U.S. immigration strategies.

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August 17, 2026

Loss of TPS Status: Employment-Based Sponsorship Options for Nurses

Join Green and Spiegel Partner Dan Berger and AFL-CIO Associate General Counsel Andrew Lyubarsky for a webinar exploring employment-based immigration options for registered nurses with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and how unions can help eligible members preserve their work authorization and pursue permanent residency.

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July 24, 2026

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