I’m Jennifer Boyance. I spent 25 years as a lawyer, the last 15 of them representing immigrants in federal proceedings — fighting deportation cases at EOIR, contesting denials at USCIS, briefing appeals before the BIA, and arguing across the table from DHS and ICE attorneys.
That’s a long time inside a system most people only encounter once, under terrible circumstances. Long enough to learn what officers actually look at, where petitions quietly fall apart, and which mistakes are recoverable versus fatal. Long enough to see the same avoidable problems show up in case after case, year after year — usually because no one had told the applicant the things that aren’t on the form.
That’s what this site is for.
Why I’m doing this now
After 25 years of adversarial practice, I’m done litigating. The cases were meaningful and the wins mattered, but the work is exhausting and the price tag puts good representation out of reach for most of the people who need it most.
So I’ve stepped back from active practice. I’m currently on inactive status with the Illinois Bar — by choice, not because anything went wrong. Beyond the Form is an educational project, not a law firm. It’s a way to take everything I learned in 15 years of immigration work and put it in front of the people who can’t afford a $400 consultation, plus the people who canafford one but want to walk in already understanding their situation.
I may, eventually, take consultations or make referrals to attorneys I trust. If and when I do, I’ll say so clearly on this site. Until then, this is purely educational content — and I think you’ll find it’s more useful than most of what’s free online.
What you’ll find here
The website is free. It covers the major visa categories, the realistic timelines, the common pitfalls, and the questions you should be asking that no one is telling you to ask. The paid guides go deeper — into the strategic decisions, the documents officers actually scrutinize, and the things experienced practitioners know that USCIS won’t put in writing.
None of it is legal advice. All of it is the kind of plain-language, grounded-in-real-cases information I wish more of my clients had walked into my office already knowing.
A few things you should know about me
• Bar: Illinois (inactive). Immigration is federal practice, so I represented clients across the country regardless of where they or I lived.
• Practice: Solo since 1999. Federal immigration since 2009. Roughly 100+ active matters at any given time, with a focus on contested cases — removal defense, complex family-based and employment-based filings, and matters involving workplace exploitation of non-citizen workers.
• Education: J.D., DePaul University College of Law (President, Public Interest Law Association). B.A., Sociology, DePaul.
• Languages: I speak fluent Romanian and conversational Spanish. A surprising number of my clients over the years preferred to talk through their cases in their own language, and I was glad to be able to.
• Now: Based in San Diego. Older, calmer, still mad about the same things, writing it all down.
What I want for you
If you’re trying to figure out a visa, a green card, a denial, or a path forward — I want you to leave this site less confused than you arrived, with a clearer sense of what you’re actually dealing with and what your real options are.
That’s it. That’s the whole project.
— Jennifer