Our Firm's Philosophy


Since its inception in 1978, our Firm has been dedicated to the exclusive practice of all areas of U.S. Immigration Law. Most "immigration firms" are either part of a larger firm or only represent clients on selected types of cases, such as employment or removal. We have always represented our clients in all aspects of immigration law, regardless of what type of case it is.

We handle business and employment cases, family matters, removal and asylum, investment cases and all immigration appeals including Federal court lawsuits against the government. Our attorney's are in fact "immigration lawyers" and not just "business immigration lawyers" or "deportation immigration lawyers".

We represent the entire spectrum of clients in the immigration process, from multinational corporations with hundreds of cases to individual clients with one issue to resolve. All of our clients receive the same commitment to the highest standard of client service and expertise in all areas of immigration law. This philosophy has served well since 1978 and has provided over 25,000 companies, employers, religious organizations, universities and individuals with the highest level of legal representation.

Service Excellence at Our Firm


The Highest Standard of Client Service

We believe that every one of our clients deserves the highest level of service and expertise. Our firm consists of attorneys, senior paralegals, paralegals and support staff who are dedicated to the principle that the only reason our firm exists is because of our clients. We follow standard procedures which put our clients first: we do not take messages when a client calls; each time a client call they are allowed to speak to a real person who can assist them. We assign specific teams of Firm members so that our clients have multiple people available to assist them.

Our Reputation Wins Cases

When our firm was founded in 1978, the immigration process was much less complicated and much more personal than it is today. Now we have multiple federal agencies involved in the process, each of which have a much less cooperative approach to immigrants and the immigration process. Over the years we have consistently challenged these agencies to follow the law in a consistent and professional manner. On many occasions we have won lawsuits against these agencies when their actions violated the law or the rights of our clients.

The federal agencies involved in the immigration process know that our cases are prepared and presented in a professional and legally correct manner. They also know that we will aggressively pursue our cases and will insure that the law is correctly applied to them.

Why Hire Tidwell, Swaim and Associates?


We provide the highest level of client service, whether it is for our corporate clients or the individual with one issue to resolve. We are dedicated to placing the needs of our clients first.

You will receive an honest assessment of your case before we start, a fair and reasonable fee which is usually more competitive that other immigration firms, and our guarantee that we will work with you to achieve your goals. We encourage you to compare our Firm's capabilities, and our commitment to our clients and the proper application of the law to our cases. There is a reason that over 70% of our new clients are referred to us by current and former clients.

David Swaim, the Firm's managing partner, is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. The Firm's associate attorneys are selected for their educational accomplishments and their dedication to client service. Our senior paralegals must maintain at least five years of immigration paralegal experience and demonstrate expertise in the immigration process before they are promoted into the position.

Our language capabilities include Spanish, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Taiwanese, Hakkanese, Russian and Gujarati.

Our Firm's Services


Employment-Based Cases

All employment based cases including nonimmigrant visas such as Hs, Ls, Es and TNs. We process immigrant cases based on employment including labor certifications, extraordinary ability, outstanding professors/researchers, national interest waivers, religious workers, investors, nurses and other allied health cases.

All of our employment case services include all of the required work for the employer and employee/family regardless of who is responsible for the fees.

For our employers we offer additional services such as on-site administration, we previously set up the first major RIR program for a North Texas technology firm which was the largest such program for several years and we have established the in-house immigration procedures for large companies such as Texas Instruments. In fact, one of our "specialties" is assisting companies with their in-house processing and helping small and medium sized companies as they grow.

Family-Based Cases

All family cases including immediate relatives, preference categories, adoptions/orphans "follow to join" cases, age out issues, marriage issues, removal of conditions from conditional permanent residence (regardless of whether the marriage has been terminated), derivative dependents and fiancés.

All of our immigration cases include not only the underlying qualifying petition but also consular processing, adjustment of status, change or extension of status, and all of the supporting documentation for each of these processes. All cases include the qualifying dependent family members. Our permanent residence cases for immigrants include the affidavits of support, assisting with birth and marriage documents, analyzing past immigration history and any possible criminal activities which may impact the process. This analysis is completed before any steps are taken with the government.

Citizenship

All citizenship issues including naturalization, derivative citizenship, citizenship transmittal to children born outside the U.S., nationality issues, and loss of citizenship.

Federal Cases

We also represent companies and individuals in Federal Court when petitions, applications and other legal proceedings have been denied or illegally handled by the government.

These cases include forcing the Immigration Service to follow its own regulations and timely issue work authorization to an employee of a large technology company as well as a group of college students denied their optional practical training, a court order to the Immigration Service to approve an L-1 petition and extension of status for an investor which has been illegally denied and another court order to the Service to approve an adjustment of status application which had been pending for over one year past the normal adjudication period.

Many of our cases also resulted in the Immigration Service being ordered to pay the attorneys fees and costs.

Colleges and Universities

We work with most of the colleges and universities in Texas and surrounding states to assist them with their faculty, F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors. We represent not only the individual faculty and students at these schools but also in some cases the university itself, such as Texas A&M University and its system universities.

Since 1980 we have given annual seminars on U.S. immigration law to these universities and their faculty and students: the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas Tech University, the University of North Texas, Texas Christian University, the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of Texas at Dallas, Baylor University, Southern Methodist University, West Texas A&M University, East Texas A&M University, the University of Arkansas, New Mexico State University, the University of Texas at El Paso, the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and Tulsa University.

Removal/Deportation Cases

We represent individuals in all phases of the removal/deportation process including master hearings, pleadings and bond determination/reductions, relief from removal/exclusion proceedings, such as asylum applications, cancellation of removal, adjustment of status and waivers. We handle stays of removals. We also handle all appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals and cases in Federal court including the Courts of Appeal and District Courts.

Employment-Based Cases


All employment based cases including nonimmigrant visas such as Hs, Ls, Es and TNs. We process immigrant cases based on employment including labor certifications, extraordinary ability, outstanding professors/researchers, national interest waivers, religious workers, investors, nurses and other allied health cases.

All of our employment case services include all of the required work for the employer and employee/family regardless of who is responsible for the fees.

For our employers we offer additional services such as on-site administration, we previously set up the first major RIR program for a North Texas technology firm which was the largest such program for several years and we have established the in-house immigration procedures for large companies such as Texas Instruments. In fact, one of our "specialties" is assisting companies with their in-house processing and helping small and medium sized companies as they grow.

Family-Based Cases


All family cases including immediate relatives, preference categories, adoptions/orphans "follow to join" cases, age out issues, marriage issues, removal of conditions from conditional permanent residence (regardless of whether the marriage has been terminated), derivative dependents and fiancés.

All of our immigration cases include not only the underlying qualifying petition but also consular processing, adjustment of status, change or extension of status, and all of the supporting documentation for each of these processes. All cases include the qualifying dependent family members. Our permanent residence cases for immigrants include the affidavits of support, assisting with birth and marriage documents, analyzing past immigration history and any possible criminal activities which may impact the process. This analysis is completed before any steps are taken with the government.

Citizenship Cases


All citizenship issues including naturalization, derivative citizenship, citizenship transmittal to children born outside the U.S., nationality issues, and loss of citizenship.

Federal Cases


We also represent companies and individuals in Federal Court when petitions, applications and other legal proceedings have been denied or illegally handled by the government.

These cases include forcing the Immigration Service to follow its own regulations and timely issue work authorization to an employee of a large technology company as well as a group of college students denied their optional practical training, a court order to the Immigration Service to approve an L-1 petition and extension of status for an investor which has been illegally denied and another court order to the Service to approve an adjustment of status application which had been pending for over one year past the normal adjudication period.

Many of our cases also resulted in the Immigration Service being ordered to pay the attorneys fees and costs.

Colleges and Universities


We work with most of the colleges and universities in Texas and surrounding states to assist them with their faculty, F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors. We represent not only the individual faculty and students at these schools but also in some cases the university itself, such as Texas A&M University and its system universities.

Since 1980 we have given annual seminars on U.S. immigration law to these universities and their faculty and students: the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas Tech University, the University of North Texas, Texas Christian University, the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of Texas at Dallas, Baylor University, Southern Methodist University, West Texas A&M University, East Texas A&M University, the University of Arkansas, New Mexico State University, the University of Texas at El Paso, the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and Tulsa University.

Removal and Deportation Cases


We represent individuals in all phases of the removal/deportation process including master hearings, pleadings and bond determination/reductions, relief from removal/exclusion proceedings, such as asylum applications, cancellation of removal, adjustment of status and waivers. We handle stays of removals. We also handle all appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals and cases in Federal court including the Courts of Appeal and District Courts.