*New-Old Member* :D
 

Hi! Apparently I registered to this forum a long time ago and only recently rediscovered it. :D

Initial Application (without a lawyer)
Anyway, I did an initial application for DACA in mid September 2014 meeting all the qualifications (been living here continuously in limbo since I was 16 months, came in with my mom on my own passport with a B something visitor's visa stamp but no I-94 card, went through all 12+ years of education here).

Bio-metrics & Request for additional evidence
I did my bio-metrics in mid October 2014 (which was a pleasant event) and then late January 2015 I was hit with a request for more evidence. It seems I did not submit any/enough evidence for continued residency for 3 different years AND they wanted a record of my being in removal proceedings, which I had no clue what they were talking about.

Getting the missed evidence for continued residency was easy enough, though having to beg my cable company for old bills from the year prior was a bit of a challenge. For a month I rattled my brains as to how I could be in removal proceedings. I had checked "no" on my application because I honestly had never known to have been issued one or called before a judge regarding such a matter. But, alas, such is the life of a childhood arrival. So, my younger sister (born citizen) and I started to hunt for some of our mom's old paperwork. We found ONE paper with removal language and on that paper my little name was handwritten in with my mom's. Even our mother didn't recall this as all that paperwork was re-sent to her recently when my sister tried filing for her with a lawyer and they got all (hopefully) her files. Long story short on my mom's case, the lawyer told her not to go to the interview because they suddenly found out that she had the deportation against her. /le sigh

Approval & EAD card
Anyway, I sent in the missing evidence and a copy of that old-ass paper mid March 2015. It's like they were waiting for me. One week later and my letter of approval was delivered. According to the online status check, it states that they had approved me from January. The same online status check told me they were making my EAD and this weekend I got it in the mail. :D

Life after DACA
Now I'm geared up to go to the social security office tomorrow as soon as it opens, thanks to the great "After Daca" thread here on this forum. From there I'll get my state ID (NY), rescind my ITIN, update my record at the bank and get my taxes done before the deadline. Whew!

As for a job, I currently work freelance as an artist, which I thank God daily for. Paypal has been a God-send and the prayers and encouragement of my family and handful of friends that know what I've had to live with have been what has kept me all these years.

I want to also thank the members here on this forum that have been so helpful; getting informed, walking the path and sharing their experiences and insights with everyone else. You are truly blessed and I pray continued blessing on you. I hope that I'll be able to be of help, too. :)

I did have a question that I couldn't seem to find addressed here on the site. Assuming I was/am still in removal proceedings, how do I get out of it? What is the benefit and risks of getting something like that terminated?

Re: *New-Old Member* :D
 

Do not forget to transfer your credit score from ITIN to your new SSN (if you have credit history).

Re: *New-Old Member* :D
 

I don't think I have any credit, though. Or if I do it probably isn't all that great. I've been paying for cable services in my name for over 10 years. I only went to college for a semester because of finances (couldn't get instate tuition but even then it would have been impossible) and it took nearly two years of paying it off on a plan through collections. I swore I wouldn't be in debt so with every little bit of babysitting money I got I split it between giving to someone in more need than me and paying that debt. So, again, I'm not sure if it would be necessary for me to transfer any (if any) credit. Thoughts?

Re: *New-Old Member* :D
 

Social Security Application and Receipt
So I went to the Social Security office last week as planned and today I got my card in the mail. 5 days! My card does have "valid to work only with dhs authorization" stamped on it along with the application date. Does every DACA recipient have this?
I live in NYC so I wound up having to go to a specific branch in order to request a new social security card. The entire ordeal was 20 minutes from getting a ticket number, quickly filling out the application, waiting for my ticket number to come up and the actual window interview.
Now I have three days to see if I can file my taxes with my new number versus the itin.
Does anyone think I can just file now with my ssn and rescind the itin after?

Re: *New-Old Member* :D
 

Yes, we all have the "validto work only with DHS authorization" stamped on our SSN. Yes, you can file taxes with your new SSN, then rescind.

Re: *New-Old Member* :D
 

Thanks!