Update for today. Interesting read if you like immigration law.

Hello Everyone,

I am starting to get sick again. That is really not cool. I am broke and can´t afford to take off any more days of work. I really hope that I am not getting the flu again. Oh God. That would really stink.

In addition to being sick, I had to go to the US Embassy today. I need to prove that I was here before August 8th, but I registered in October. I was told by someone at the town hall to go to the US Embassy because if I prove to them that I was in fact here before August then they can sign a paper with an official stamp.

HAHAHA. I was wrong. I KNEW that this would be another dead end. The woman I talked to wouldn´t even let me finish my sentence when I talked to her. Even though I was there because a worker in the town hall told me to do it.  She was a little mean, and I overheard her talking to the other gal that I was there again. Bitch.

 The problem is that I didn´t register with the US Embassy when I first arrived here. I should have, but I didn't. Before I came here I read up as much as I could on living here and it was recommended for me to register with the US Embassy. Had I registered, they would have been able to fully support me and help me prove that I was in fact here before August 8th.

I didn't register for a reason. Because when I came here I planned to live here illegally and work under the table. Why? Because I would have never expected the Spanish government to pass a once-in-a-lifetime temporary law that makes it easier for foreigners here to get legal working papers. A law like this probably won´t come around again. The period for helping foreigners get working papers is between February till May. Basically if I don´t ask for papers by May I miss my window of opportunity.

Anyways, I figured that if I were to live here illegally, I wouldn´t want anyone knowing exactly how long I was here. I didn´t want to make it easier for officials to prove that I was illegal, so I didn´t register. Had I thought a little harder, I would have realized that the US Embassy deals with US laws and protecting the rights of US citizens, not enforcing the laws in Spain. The US Embassy isn't going to notice that I overstayed my tourist visa. And even if they do, it is not their job to send me home. That is the job of the officials in Spain. The national police to be exact. And the Spanish government most likely isn´t gonna go through the hassle of sending an American home, unless I commit a crime.

And now it is biting me in the ass. I feel kinda dumb, but how could I have known? This new law was announced in October, and then went into effect just now. And the requirements to be fulfilled changed a couple of times in between not to mention that it was so hard to get any information until now. So, believe me when I say it´s hard to follow up on immigration laws.

Anyways the only thing the women at the embassy could do for me was give me a signed sworn statement with a US Consulate stamp. Basically it means nothing and doesn´t prove anything but I gave it a shot for the hell of it. I mean, I took time off work to go all the way there. I might as well get a little souvenir out of it.

With the sworn statement, I had to write a statement and then it was signed by an official under oath. I wrote my little spiel of how I was in Spain since late June and that I have evidence such as my plane ticket and bank receipts to prove it. And then the official asked me if I swore that my statement was true before she signed it.

So now I have a sworn statement but it really means nothing. I could have wrote that I had two asses and told the official that " I swear I have two asses" and she woulda signed it. I mean, I paid 24 Euros for it and it takes no effort.

So yeah, I am still back where I was. I really want to go home in June when my plane tickets need to be used.

I do love Spain. Really, I do. Besides this process that is going nowhere and my awful job, I am having a ball. It´s not that I want to go back home and never return here. I just want to take a break for a couple of weeks and come back because I am a little homesick. I would love to return in September and give Madrid a try when the language schools are hiring and looking for teachers. Finding work would be so much easier there.

Anyways, enough for today. Ciao.