Mission
Immigrant Hope is dedicated to empowering under-resourced community members by offering expert immigration legal services to ensure individuals understand their options and receive comprehensive assistance with their immigration applications.
Vision
Our vision is that every individual regardless of their background or circumstances has access to legal expertise in immigration matters.
Meet the Team
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Lura Matthews
Executive Director and Accredited Representative
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Aldo Arenas
Accredited Representative
About Us
Immigrant Hope - Wyoming/Idaho is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 2016. We serve clients primarily in Jackson, WY, Big Piney, WY, and Teton Valley, ID, but we are able to provide assistance throughout Wyoming and Southeast Idaho.
Our office is located at 90 West Kelly Ave, Jackson, WY in the basement of First Baptist Jackson.
We also meet clients in Driggs, ID and Pinedale, WY.
Consultation are by appointment and can be made by emailing us at wyomingidaho@immigranthope.org or calling/texting 208-709-0131.
Immigrant Hope does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status.
Expertise
The U.S. Department of Justice requires anyone providing advice in immigration law to be either a licenses attorney or an accredited representative. We can answer questions, fill out forms, and give advice on immigration legal matters.
We currently have two accredited representatives working for Immigrant Hope.
We have a technical agreement with Trefonas Law in Jackson, WY to provide advice and answer questions when requested.
History
Immigrant Hope – Wyoming/Idaho was founded by Lori L. McCune in the fall of 2016. On Aug 15, 2016, the US Department of Justice recognized us as an organization and Lori was accredited by them to provide legal immigration services to clients under the 501(c)(3) organization Immigrant Hope.
Lori learned about the opportunity to assist immigrants in their immigration applications from a California pastor. She flew to Los Angeles in June of 2013 to attend the Immigrant Pathway Institute, a 40 hour intensive course on immigration law. She passed the comprehensive exam on the information and received a certificate. A US DOJ accredited representative has to obtain 100+ hours of practice of immigration law, among many other requirements. Because there were no other organizations anywhere near the WY/ID border, she flew to Minneapolis to shadow immigration lawyers and accredited representatives under World Relief, a US refugee organization.
Recently, Lori has retired and Executive Director Lura Matthews become an accredited representative in March 2023. Legal Assistance Aldo Arenas became an accredited represenative in January 2024.