Bethany Hoffmann
Principal Attorney
Bethany T. Hoffmann is the Principal Attorney at Hoffmann Immigration Law LLC in Rockford, Illinois. She focuses her practice on family-based immigration, naturalization, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) petitions, U visas, and removal defense, representing clients across the United States and worldwide before the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of State.
A graduate of DePaul University College of Law (2004), Ms. Hoffmann has focused her practice on immigration law for 18 years. She is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), a national organization of immigration attorneys having more than 16,000 members. From 2019 to 2025, she served an elected six-year term on the executive board of the AILA Chicago Chapter, and from 2023 to 2024, she served on the AILA National organization’s Board of Governors.
Ms. Hoffmann is a frequent speaker on immigration law and policy, and has testified as an immigration expert before both the Illinois Senate and the Illinois House of Representatives on U visas and U visa certifications.
Boards & Committees
- American Immigration Lawyers Ass’n (AILA), National VAWA/U/T Committee Member (2025-Present)
- American Immigration Lawyers Ass’n (AILA) Chicago Chapter, Executive Board (2019-2025)
- American Immigration Lawyers Ass’n (AILA) Board of Governors, Voting Member (2023-2024)
- Illinois Access 2 Justice, Advisory Committee (2019)
- AILA Chicago Chapter, Ethics Committee (2018-2019)
- AILA Chicago Chapter, Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee (2016-2019)
- AILA Chicago Chapter, Midwest Conference Planning Committee (2015-2018)
- YWCA–Northwestern Illinois, Leader Luncheon Committee (2017)
- Dilley Detention Pro Bono Project (2014)
- Winnebago County Bar Association, Secretary (2013-2014)
- Trinity Day Care, Inc., Board Member (2011-2019)
Advocacy & Volunteer Work
- Policy Team Member, Campaign for a Welcoming Illinois, Illinois TRUST Act & Illinois VOICES Act
- Organizer and Presenter, Know Your Rights & Short Term Guardianship Workshops servicing Northern Illinois
- Organizer and Presenter, Know Your Rights Workshops servicing Southern Wisconsin (Rock County)
- Volunteer Legal Screener, New Americans Initiative, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights
- Arbitration Judge, Illinois 17th Judicial Circuit, Alternative Dispute Resolution Center
Select Speaking Engagements
- AILA National 2026 Annual Conference, “Making Us and Ts Work for You,” Speaker (June 2026)
- AILA Ohio Chapter Conference, “Humanitarian Relief,” Speaker (Oct. 2025)
- Illinois Bar Association (ISBA), Minority Bar Conference, “Cybersecurity: Tales from the Cryptocurrency,” Speaker (Nov. 2024)
- AILA Chicago Chapter, Midwest Regional Conference, “Ethics: How to Stay Sane in an Insane World,” Discussion Leader (Mar. 2019)
- AILA Chicago Chapter, Immigration Summit on the Unauthorized Practice of Law, “Pursuing Relief for Victims of UPL,” Discussion Leader (Jan. 2019)
- League of Women Voters of Greater Rockford–Forum on the VOICES Act, Speaker (Jan. 2019)
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Northern Illinois Synod, Congregational Resourcing Event Conference, “Immigration 101: Myths & Facts,” Speaker (Mar. 2018)
- Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights (ICIRR), Policy Forum, “U Visas and the VOICES Act,” Presenter (Oct. 2017)