I'm making an assumption that you've been working for a US company. Often, US employers will only provide neutral references anyway--meaning, all they will do is confirm your dates of employment, title, and potentially salary. Leverage the relationships you've developed directly with your clients during your 5+ years of experience, and ask directly whether they would be willing to provide a reference. You might also ask a select few if they would be willing to provide a recommendation on LinkedIn--while this is not a substitute for a reference, it can serve to publicly validate the quality of your work, which may open the door to some opportunities. Your situation is not bleak--people have overcome more challenging situations and gone on to be successful. Finally, I'll share one other secret with you--while most companies indicate that they routinely check candidate references, that is not always the case, and there are serious questions as to whether references are even a good indicator of future success. As long as you are upfront when employers ask why you're looking and you don't attempt to mislead or falsify information, and focus on selling a potential employer on how you can solve their business challenges, you'll be fine.