Academic Hot Topics
Policies, processing times and proposed regulations. In the world of academic immigration, there are daily changes and rumors of changes. This panel will review the latest developments in student and scholar visa categories, discuss advising in an era of uncertainty, and evaluate future changes to determine which are most likely to happen and when. In particular, the panel will focus on strategies to avoid RFEs, planning for security delays and longer processing times, and what to do if there is a denial.
Dan Berger
Dan Berger is a partner at the immigration law firm of Curran, Berger & Kludt in Northampton, MA.
Dan developed his interest in immigration in college, where he studied immigration history and taught English to adult refugees. He is a founding member of the US Alliance of International Entrepreneurs, an Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, on the Legal Advisory Board of the Presidents’ Alliance on Immigration & Higher Education, and a member of the USCIS Headquarters liaison committee for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).
Dan has edited Immigration Options for Academics and Researchers and the Diplomatic Visa Guide. He wrote an Issue Brief for the American Council on Education (ACE) after the 2016 election, and was a co-author on a “Note” on immigration in 2017 for the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA).
Lesley N. Salafia, Esq.
Lesley Salafia serves as a Senior Associate University Counsel in the University of Connecticut’s Office of the General Counsel. She supports all units of the University with a focus on Global Affairs, Student Affairs and Student Activities, Human Resources, and the Office of the Provost. She serves as the signatory authority and provides legal analysis, preparation and review of employment-based nonimmigrant visa petitions and permanent residency cases on behalf of the foreign national faculty and staff at the University of Connecticut. She also provides legal services in connection with a wide range of other issues and initiatives at the University. She presents within Connecticut and nationally on topics concerning immigration and higher education.
Before joining the University of Connecticut in 2010, Lesley was an associate in the Hartford office of the law firm Shipman & Goodwin LLP. There, she served in the immigration and employment litigation practice groups, representing employers throughout the nonimmigrant and immigrant visa process and handling claims of employment discrimination, wrongful termination, sexual harassment and wage violations. She was selected one of Connecticut’s Rising Stars 2009 by Super Lawyers Magazine. Lesley graduated with honors from the University of Connecticut School of Law and received her Bachelor of Arts degree, Summa Cum Laude from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.