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I came across this website (Thanks to Aled) and found to be very interesting. Top 10 Benefits of Being a DACA-MENTED. If you have or haven't been accepted yet you can still make a difference! http://unitedwedream.org/daca-top10/

I don't know how many of you know about it (for those in California) but AB 131(which is part of the CA Dream Act) will become effective on January 1, 2013, very soon! so here is some info about it. The California Dream Act of 2011 is the result of two bills, Assembly Bill 130 (AB 130) and Assembly Bill 131 (AB 131). Together, these bills allow undocumented and documented students who meet certain provisions of AB 540 law to apply for and receive private scholarships funneled through public universities (AB 130), state-administered financial aid, University grants, and community college fee waivers (AB 131). AB 131 : Signed into law on October 8, 2011. Becomes effective on January 1, 2013. Apply for and receive institutional grants like the UC "University Grant", the CSU "State University Grant", the CSU Extended Opportunity Program (EOP) or the California Community College Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS). Apply and receive California Community Colleges Board of Governor's fee waiver ( BOG fee waiver) . If you are attending a California Community College and plan to transfer to a 4-year institution in the fall of 2013 or later, you may qualify for a Community College Transfer Entitlement Cal Grant also known as the CCC Transfer Entitlement Cal B (Apply JAN - MAR 2013) . If you are enrolled or expect to enroll in a career technical program at your college, you may qualify for a Cal Grant C ( Apply JAN-MAR 2013). Dream Act students without legal immigration status will be required to fill out the CA Student Aid Commission's own Dream Application in lieu (stead) of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Like any other dependent Cal Grant applicants, Dream Act students will be required to submit parental income and asset information. The demographic information students will provide on the Cal Dream Application is largely the same as the information that students have already supplied to their high schools and colleges. There are no checks and matches between the Cal Dream App and any federal databases. Dream Act students' and their parents' information is protected by the same privacy and information security laws and safeguard as all other Cal Grants applicants. California Dream Application website: www.CalDreamAct.org I also attached more info on AB 130 & AB 131 CA Dream Act (AB130 & AB131) FAQ's.pdf

I got approved on Nov 5th and should be getting my EAD card soon.. hopefully tomorrow? And I really have to fly from NY to FL asap. I can use my EAD card as ID right? Hahahaha I actually did get it the day after this post!

Hello everyone my name is Erika I'm from the city of Mexico and i'm currently living in California. Like many of you I share the same story. When I was about 5 -6 years old my dad decided to come to the U.S to be able to make more money to give us (me and my sisters) a better future. His plans were to come to the U.S and stay here for a couple of years , save some money and then go back to Mexico, but that didn't happen. When I was 9-10 years old my mom also decided to come to the U.S with my dad. Things (economically) were getting a little tough for us in Mexico. So my parents decided that it would be better for all of us to go to the U.S. My mom was first. She came to California to meet with my dad while me and my two sisters stayed with my grandma in Zacatecas. We stayed with my grandma for a year and then my parents send for us.To be honest i had no idea of how things were gonna be over here in the U.S, I thought things were gonna be better for us over here, which in a way they are. I started 6th grade over here in Cali, things were going good till I got to my junior year in high school when i tried to challenge myself even more by taking college classes while i was still in high school. Many of my friends were taking college classes and the adviser from one of the clubs I was part of in high school recommended me to also take college classes because for high school students the classes at a community college were free plus it was gonna make me more competitive and it was gonna increase my opportunities into getting into a UC (University of California; some of the best 4 year universities in California) . So not really knowing anything about my situation/status i decided to go for it and take a college class, but when i was gonna register for the class they told me I had to pay like $600 dollars for it because i didn't have an SSN or legal status. That's when it hit me, because i didn't know i was limited to do certain things just because i didn't have a nine digit number, I was here thinking i had the same opportunities as everyone else. So I didn't end up taking any college classes because of course i didn't have the money to pay for it. So i started to get more informed about my situation, but to be honest it was devastating for me to know that I was limited to do a lot of stuff, I couldn't get into programs i wanted to form part of in high school just because i didn't have a nine digit number . Sometimes my friends would ask me why, but i couldn't tell them why because i was scared that they might look at me different . I knew I was gonna have to try my hardest and I did. I did as much as i could but even when i tried my hardest i wasn't able to gather the money to pay for college. I got accepted into all the universities I applied to, but couldn't go to any of them because of the money, but i didn't stop there. I decided to go to a community college. I have to admit it, i felt a little depressed because i couldn't go to a 4 year university right out of high school just like many of my friends did, especially knowing that i tried my hardest in high school and ended up in a community college, but it turned out to be not that bad at least i'm still studying. To be honest i used to think I was the only one in this situation, but now that got more into searching more about my situation i was impressed to find out how many people are in the same situation that I am and that's really encouraging so don't give up guys we're not alone let's keep on fighting for our dreams!

There is something that I see a lot that is soooo overwhelmingly disappointing and infuriating!! Anyone else notice that often times when someone finally gets legal status/residency/citizenship, they seem to turn their backs on the rest of us and begin to see themselves as better while judging everyone that hasn't gotten there yet? I see that a lot, and it makes no sense to me!! WHY, after having been in the same boat, do people feel all of a sudden better than everyone else??? Those people begin to disassociate themselves from the rest of us and all of a sudden se creen la gran cagada!! I want to plead with all of you here that when you are approved for the deferred action, get your EAD, social security card, and license, you won't turn your back on the rest of us... Keep on fighting for us!!! Keep on being there for us!! Furthermore, if one day you get a full path to residency/citizenship, don't you EVER forget where you came from!! Don't you ever forget that struggle, don't you ever forget those hardships, and don't you EVER leave your own people hanging!! Keep on striving to help not only fellow dreamers, but also any other community members that are struggling as I'm sure a lot of our parents are struggling... Always keep that passion, don't ever let it burn out!!! Good luck to everyone y que Dios los bendiga!! <3

New York has something similar to this. Check it out guys: http://www.nydreamact.org/silver-introduces-new-bill-to-assist-undocumented-youth/

Walk-in was a success

Further example... something happening in my town is that a lot of the mexicans are being ticketed on a daily basis for not having a D.L.... My sister and I (both dreamers) have been organizing a lot of the statements (cases of harassment) and talking with chief of police, district attorneys, NAACP, ACLU, etc. to get this to stop... we just received our licenses today, and just because the cops will no longer be stoppin us, doesn't mean we won't be continuing with the legal procedures to help everyone else out... On the other hand, there are a few mexicanos in town that DO have licenses, and DONT work, that when we reached out for their help in setting up a ride system (offering them compensation) they flat out said no... My sister and I, on the other hand, will probably be giving ppl rides at all times of the day and night, even though we both currently work 2 jobs with lots of hrs, odd schedules, we're both enrolled full time at a university, and we both have various other projects we work on (teaching english classes, church volunteering, etc.)

Fist, I am very glad that we have this forum. It is nice to see how each and one of us is going through this amazing journey in getting our DA/EA. On that note, I would like to make some recommendations: 1. I agree with the previous suggestion. Have a section where we could go to get further information on a variety of different topics relating to this whole process of "adjusting our status" and starting our lives "partly documented". For example, links to get applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and a Social Security. In addition, many us will soon get credit cards, loans, and drivers license as a result, we will need information as to how and where to obtain them. For example, inks to all the states where one can get the requirements to apply for a drivers license. 2. The forums needs to be better organized. You should place categories where people can place their comments. For example on the Dream Act Questions and Answers you have to many discussion and is very difficult to follow. A way to accomplish this would be to place all questions about SS under one category and others with their corresponding topic. 3. Also, If someone post a question and someone answers it, the user who asked the question should be notified that a respond has been posted. Hope this helps. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Date Application Sent: September 07, 2012 Lockbox: Chicago, IL Mail Method: USPS Flat Rate mail w/ delivery confirmation Date Delivered: September 10, 2012 Date of I-797 C Notice of Action: September 12, 2012 Service Center: Texas Date of Biometrics: Walk-in September 24th, 2012 @10:00am Date of EAD Letter/Email/TXT Approval: Oct. 24th at 3:45 PM Applied for SSN: Nov. 2, 2012 SSN Printout: Nov. 8, 2012

Dude you can use your country's passport if you have it. I've traveled from Boston to Miami multiple times with it, never without a problem. I suppose you can also use your EAD though...

Yeah that's what some others have been telling me.... but i'm just gonna wait till my appointment