Our Story
Working Towards a Better Tomorrow
Opening Doors International Services, Inc. was established in April 2003 in response to an immigration crisis that affected a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Denton. The congregation responded to the member’s needs with great compassion [read the full story here]. At the time, no legal assistance for immigrants existed in Denton County. Church volunteers underwent training in immigration law and procedures, made possible by a grant received from The Women's Birthday Fund and from the Trinity Presbyterian Church.
Today, our staff and volunteers remain very involved with the community at the grassroots level, extending our assistance beyond immigration legal needs whenever the opportunity arises. Most of our staff are accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice to provide immigration legal advice to clients, prepare and file cases on their behalf, and represent them before United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Volunteers are essential to our operation, assisting with a myriad of tasks and accompanying clients in compiling documentation required for their USCIS filings. We are affiliated with CLINIC, a national network of nonprofit immigration legal services agencies, and rely on them and local pro bono immigration attorneys for an additional layer of legal technical support as needed, enabling us to provide expert legal assistance to clients regardless of financial limitations.
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Most of our volunteers are students at local and regional colleges who connect with us through their university career centers, referrals from professors who collaborate with us, or are aware of our efforts on behalf of the immigrant community.
Our Board consists of educators, business owners, clergy, and career professionals; people passionate about welcoming diverse groups of exceptional people into our community. We also strive to have the accounting and immigration law professions represented. Some of our Board members are even original founders of Opening Doors.
Here is our periodic report to the United States Department of Justice.
