Rocio Martinez grew up in Fort Worth in the same community she now represents. She is a Mexican-American Fort Worth native who attended Northwestern University for her undergraduate degree in Political Science, Spanish, and Psychology, then earned her JD from the University of Texas School of Law. As a law student, she interned at the Law Office of Francisco Hernandez, the same attorney now on her team, where her focus on immigration law and the immigrant community in Tarrant County solidified. That trajectory from community member to law student to practicing immigration attorney defines how the firm approaches its work.
Overview
The Law Office of Rocio Martinez is an immigration and criminal defense practice in Fort Worth, Texas, affiliated with Texas Mexico Law. The firm handles the full spectrum of immigration matters before USCIS on the affirmative side and before the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) in Dallas on the defensive side. The team describes having more than 50 years of combined experience across its attorneys.
The firm’s client base is drawn primarily from Fort Worth’s immigrant community in Tarrant County. Rocio Martinez’s background as a Fort Worth native with deep roots in that community distinguishes the practice from firms that serve a similar demographic without that same local connection. She has volunteered at Centro Romero in Chicago, a center that prepared naturalization applicants, and has spoken as a guest at CLE programs through the Tarrant County Young Lawyers’ Association.
The firm is affiliated with, or co-located with, Texas Mexico Law, accessible at texasmexicolaw.com, and the immigration practice website is at https://www.immigrationlawftworth.com/
Practice Areas
Immigration law is the primary practice area, covering both affirmative matters filed with USCIS and defensive matters heard before the immigration courts under DOJ-EOIR jurisdiction in Dallas.
Affirmative immigration services include family-based petitions, employer-based petitions, naturalization applications, adjustment of status, consular processing, and employment-based visas. These are cases where the applicant is seeking a benefit from the immigration system and the proceeding is non-adversarial.
Defensive immigration services address situations where a non-citizen is in removal proceedings or faces deportation. The firm handles removal defense before the Dallas immigration court, which falls under the DOJ Executive Office for Immigration Review. It also handles immigration detention releases, which requires both procedural knowledge of detention procedures and an understanding of bond hearing arguments before immigration judges.
Waivers of inadmissibility are a specialized component of the immigration practice. These waivers apply when a client is otherwise ineligible for a visa or green card due to specific grounds such as prior unlawful presence or certain violations, and require a petition demonstrating that the inadmissibility bar should be excused.
Criminal law is also offered through the team. Francisco Hernandez holds a Criminal Law Specialist certification from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Additional criminal defense attorneys on the team, including Phillip (whose last name is not publicly available), have received recognition including “Top Attorney” in Criminal Defense designation from Fort Worth Magazine and Super Lawyers “Rising Star” recognition in 2018 and 2019, placing among the top 2.5% of Texas lawyers in those years.
The intersection of criminal law and immigration law is particularly relevant for clients who face criminal charges that carry immigration consequences, a specialized area sometimes called “crimmigration,” where the firm’s coverage of both fields is a practical advantage.
Attorney Profiles
Rocio Martinez is the principal attorney. She earned her BA from Northwestern University in 2012, where she studied Political Science, Spanish, and Psychology, and her JD from the University of Texas School of Law. She is admitted to the Texas State Bar under bar #342063. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Tarrant County Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. She has volunteered with Centro Romero in Chicago and has spoken as a guest at CLE programs for the Tarrant County Young Lawyers’ Association. She is fluent in Spanish.
Francisco Hernandez is an attorney with a Criminal Law Specialist certification from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is also a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. He is admitted to the Texas State Bar. Rocio Martinez interned at his office during law school.
Daniel Hernandez is an attorney handling immigration and criminal law matters. He is a board member of The First Tee of Fort Worth and volunteers with TCU undergraduates on the consequences of alcohol and drugs. He is admitted to the Texas State Bar.
Phillip is an attorney on the team who has been recognized as a “Top Attorney” in Criminal Defense by Fort Worth Magazine for each year he has been licensed, and was named a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in 2018 and 2019, a distinction given to the top 2.5% of Texas lawyers. His last name is not publicly available in the sources reviewed.
Erika is a criminal defense attorney with the firm. Specific credentials and bar details beyond her Texas bar admission are not publicly available.
Raul handles both affirmative immigration cases before USCIS and defensive cases before the DOJ Executive Office for Immigration Review. Specific credentials and full name are not publicly available.
Location and Service Area
The office is at 1550 W Berry St, Fort Worth, TX 76110. The primary phone number is (817) 383-2979, with (817) 546-7320 also listed. The firm serves clients in Fort Worth and across Tarrant County. Immigration court appearances are conducted in Dallas before the DOJ-EOIR immigration court.
Client Focus
The firm’s primary client base is Fort Worth’s immigrant community, particularly individuals and families navigating family-based immigration, removal defense, and naturalization. The firm’s Spanish-language capability, led by Rocio Martinez as a fluent Spanish speaker, is central to how it communicates with clients whose primary language is Spanish.
The firm also serves clients who face both immigration and criminal law issues simultaneously, where the outcome of a criminal matter can directly affect immigration status. Having certified and recognized criminal defense attorneys alongside immigration attorneys within the same practice allows for coordinated handling of such matters.
Consultation details, including whether an initial consultation is offered at no charge, are not specified publicly. Contact can be made by phone at (817) 383-2979 or through the website contact form at https://www.immigrationlawftworth.com/
FAQ
Does the firm handle cases where a client is detained by immigration authorities?
Yes. The firm has experience obtaining releases for clients in immigration detention. This involves appearing at bond hearings before immigration judges and arguing for the client’s release pending the outcome of their immigration proceedings.
Can the firm represent me in immigration court in Dallas?
Yes. The firm handles defensive immigration matters before the DOJ Executive Office for Immigration Review in Dallas, which is where removal proceedings in the Fort Worth and Tarrant County area are typically heard.
Does the firm handle both USCIS applications and immigration court proceedings?
Yes. The firm handles affirmative matters filed with USCIS, such as adjustment of status and family petitions, as well as defensive proceedings in immigration court.
Can the firm assist with both a criminal charge and its immigration consequences?
Yes. The team includes criminal defense attorneys, one of whom is a Texas Board of Legal Specialization certified Criminal Law Specialist, alongside immigration attorneys. This allows the firm to address both the criminal matter and its potential immigration impact in a coordinated way.
Does the firm handle cases in Spanish?
Rocio Martinez is fluent in Spanish. Given the firm’s client base and community focus in Fort Worth, Spanish-language representation is central to the practice.
Closing
The Law Office of Rocio Martinez is rooted in a community rather than simply serving one. Rocio Martinez’s path from Fort Worth immigrant community member to Northwestern graduate to UT Law to immigration attorney gives the practice a perspective that cannot be replicated by firms that arrive at immigration law from a different starting point. The team’s combined depth across immigration and criminal defense addresses the practical reality that for many clients, these two areas of law do not stay neatly separate.