Ok, I also have good news to report! I have also been officially approved for work authorization.

Just like Binkx-it was under 3 months. It took three months to get the appointment. And my lawyers presented the solicitud here August 8th and have told me that it was approved as of October 30th. I still need to wait for the official letter of course! I guess they believed that I am so perfect for my job that no European can do it and I must be imported. Logical, enough, honestly, considering that I wrote the job description based on my resume!

Anyway, when I get the letter I have to speed my butt to the States to get the med letter and police record. Question: what exact tests need to be in the med letter-does anyone know? The consulate will only refer me to their webpage which says that I must be (1) free of contagious diseases (but which ones must be tested for-the clinic at home talked about a blood test, but I have been told TB is important (chest x ray), pink eye, probably not so much) (2) free of drug addiction-ok and (3) free of mental illness (ya, how do you test for that?) The consulate also told me this paperwork isn't for them-it's for the police and the residency card once I get here, so it is up to them. Any ideas?

quote:

Logical, enough, honestly, considering that I wrote the job description based on my resume!

That's exactly the way you do it!!!

quote:

what exact tests need to be in the med letter-does anyone know?

Maybe Binkx can answer that better since she did it not too long ago, but I think if you do take that list of requirements to your doctor and request a letter that in very general terms will certify that you have been examined and are free of contagious and mental diseases and in good health that should be enough.

quote:

The consulate also told me this paperwork isn't for them-it's for the police and the residency card once I get here

Well, I find that sort of hard to believe. You should keep copies of everything you turn into the consulate just to be on the safe side and in case they screw something up. However, sometimes they will tell you that you need all this other stuff after you get here and it's not quite so. As far as I know that medical certificate is only for the visa, and when you get here to process the residency ID they do not (or at least not that I know of) request a medical certificate or any such thing. They will want copies of your work visa, maybe a certificate or a letter from your employer, a few pictures, a small fee and maybe some more paperwork but I've never heard of them asking for that medical certificate here in Spain. Seriously, do not trust what they tell you in the Spanish consulate in the US, when you get here they will tell you a different story and you will have to do what they tell you here, not what they said at the consulate. The Spanish consulates in the US continuously do this with the students, I find them asking me about all this stuff like Hague postilles and what not that they've been told they need once they get here and it's not true at all. Typical Spanish bureocracy.

Congratulations Wendy--that's great!

I posted a copy of the medical letter that we used (I pried the info from the consulate at the time) on the "cheapest way to study" thread--but I can't seem to find this thread any more. Maybe jer can...

It was basically a statement that said that I didn't have any communicable diseases, was in general good health, didn't have any mental disorders, and wasn't a drug addict or alcoholic. I took the word document to my doctor and had her print it out on her stationery and sign it. My doctor insisted on doing blood tests for AIDS and syphilis, I think, before signing it. Christian's doctor was more of a slacker and just signed it on the spot.

I definitely only needed the medical letter and police record at the consulate. My police record had to have the apostille. But it doesn't seem like they always require that.

In other news, Christian's work permit seems to have also gotten approved--after almost 18 months! If all goes as the lawyer thinks it will, he won't have to go back to the US(because he has always been here legally on a student visa). More details to follow...

hey, quick reply as i'm between trips right now (really a 5hour layover here in madrid) but as i told schwendy personally i basically wrote up the letter (with the EXACT wording on the consulate pages) and went to a clinic and told them to do whatever they needed/wated to do to feel comfortable writing that letter. they did a physical exam, blood and urine test.

Thanks for all the advice-I will do exactly as you said!

quote:

Originally posted by binkx:
Post trip to the Consulate update:

I went this morning to the Spanish Consulate in DC. In their usual fashion, they were rude and not very open to talking, but she took all my papers, threw the photocopies I had made back at me, placed some stamps on a few pages, and said my visa should be ready in a week! I was totally shocked at this, as all along they had been telling me 1-6 more months after this step, but she said since Spain has basically already approved it (with my work authorization I just got) it's just some info they send via the computer. She actually recommended I leave my passport there because she thinks it will be ready by next week before I leave for Spain (Friday). Knowing how slow things work there though, I am begining to think I was overly optomistic but I will call back on Tuesday as instructed to see if it's ready.

Btw- she barely looked at, and certainly didn't keep, my medical or police letters that I scrambeled to get...

Hey binkx... did you have to get an appointment ahead of time when you presented your papers in DC or did you just show up? Looks like Christian has to go back to DC after all... so now we are scrambling.

Mariposita: In my case (the Boston consulate) they are requiring that I get an appointment.....

Thanks for the info, Wendy. Can you do this over the phone or do you have to do it in person? Did it take you long to get the appointment? If it has to be in person, I wonder if someone else could do it in his place... Ah, stress!

In my case, I have to fax the official notification letter to the consulate. Once they see that, they will give me the appointment over the phone. Then, I need to go in person that day to present my papers. I am hoping it will not take long to get because I am only in the States for three weeks. (I haven't done it yet because it took two weeks for the official letter to be mailed, and now it has to be signed). I will be contacting the consulate later this week and will let you know! wendy

Hey,

In DC they just told me to come by. Wouldn´t take appointments, so I went there without one.

Suerte!!

mariposita, I would suggest you e-mail or call (or have someone in the US call) the DC consulate directly and find out what you need to do and get regarding requirements, paperwork, appointments and everything else straight from the horse's mouth.
You can't go by what other consulates do as they all have different policies and requirements. Unbelievable but true, the stories I hear from students about the different requirements or how they change depending on when and who you talk to at the same consulate, have curled my hair -it used to be straight, really!
So get the info straight from them and in a friendly and polite way try to find out who you've talked to, just in case when you go turn the paperwork in they tell you that such-and-such is missing, then just as politely you can tell them that so-and-so told you this was what you needed. Better yet if they have a list of requirements on their website because then you have it in writing and can take it with you as proof. Not that it will help but maybe...
As usual make sure you photocopy everything and keep one copy before you turn it in, just in case they lose anything. And if you kill a black chicken at midnight with a full moon and throw some of its blood at all four cardinal points with an extra shake in the direction of Spain, while chanting "viva el ministerio de exteriores" 72 times, I'm sure it wont hurt!
Buena suerte!
Lena

Hola Chicas--
Thanks so much for all of the advice and general good vibes. Lena is absolutely right (as always!)--every consulate seems to have their own weird subculture.

Yesterday we were freaking out because we just couldn't get the DC consulate on the phone. We called in the morning (US time) and no one answered. We called the embassy main number and they told us that they only take calls in the afternoon (after 1pm EST). So we called back for over an hour around 1pm and again no one answered and there was no way to leave a message. So then we called the main embassy number again (where you can get a real person) and they said that the consulate does not answer the phones in the afternoon... Only in the morning. Then I did some googling and found some other numbers for a financial office at the consulate and we tried that. There they couldn't really help us, but took some pity and told us that you get the generic message at the consulate number when the people in the consulate aren't answering the phones and that you have to just keep speed dialing until someone (hopefully) decides to pick up (sigue insistiendo).

After much persistence, eventually this happened! She said that you can't ask for an appointment ahead of time or do anything in advance, you just have to bring the certificado de resolución favorable to the consulate. They enter the info into their system and wait for a positive response back from Madrid which can take a week or so (less or more, depending on the way the planets are aligned). Christian did get the name of the person that he talked to (great advice, Lena--I've learned that one the hard way, as well).

Since he has been a legal resident in Spain the past three years, they also told him to get his antecedentes penales from Spain. In yet another catch 22, they won't give you the antecedentes here in Madrid if you tell them that it is for a visa. Technically the consulate has to request them... We may have found a work around (it's all in how you ask for something). I'll post more on this if it works out.

So Christian is off to the US on Tuesday, hoping this will get resolved in one week so we can get on with our lives. The DC consulate isn't open on Fridays and the puente is coming up. Keeping fingers crossed.

About the santería... sounds like a fun mm gathering in the making--me apunto! We did go see Santa Teresa's finger recently--that should count for something, right?!

P.S. The consulate also said that, since he is currently living in Spain, the medical certificate also needs to be from Spain. We are using Clínica Alder on c/Ayala. They accept Sanitas (and probably other private insurance). They can usually give you an appointment for the next day and have a lab around the corner that gets the results in a day or two (much faster than the norm), just in case anyone finds his/herself in this sort of jam.

Well, it sounds like a Kafka plot, but 23 months after mi media naranja first started his work permit process it finally got approved today at the DC consulate. He submitted his approved paperwork last Wednesday (no appointment necessary) and got the visa pasted into his passport today (Monday).

It has been quite a crazy ride. He got the contract back in January 2006 and his lawyers requested an appointment with the ministerio, which ended up being in April 2006, had the job listed with the employment office shortly thereafter, got the certificate saying that no one applied, then had his request denied in November of 2006, appealed this decision in November of 2006, didn't hear a peep until August of 2007 when the ministry asked for a bunch of paperwork again, and finally got it approved almost a year after the rejection in October of 2007.

I think the only reason that it got approved was that he and his lawyers just never gave up. The initial rejection was pretty odd--though it seems that his paperwork got swept up with the amnesty and this happened to a lot of people.

A few things that we learned that might be useful to others:

--the DC consulate won't tell you how long it will take to get your visa processed (once all is approved in Spain, that is). When pressed they said it could take anywhere from 2-10 days or more if it hits any snags. It ended up taking 2 days.

--The DC consulate is not open on Fridays. And they take off Spanish holidays (and probably American ones, too).

--if you have been here in Spain as a student or other resident for three years and then get a work contract, you shouldn't have to go back to the US to get a visa. You should just be able to apply for your residency here (he couldn't since he wasn't here three years when he started the process).

--if you live here legally as a student and then get a work permit, your years here as a student should count toward the years you need for citizenship (10 years for US citizens; 1-2 years for many others). Not so if you are here illegally or if you let your residency lapse and go back to the US (or somewhere else), as I understand. Your residency in Spain has to be totally uninterrupted. And the student estancia years won't count for anything until you convert to full residency (via a work permit, arraigo or an amnesty).

--because O and I have been living in Spain for over three years, we shouldn't have to go back to the US when he does the reagrupación.

--once I change from my student estancia to regular residency under the reagrupación, I shouldn't have to go through nearly as much hassle to get a work permit (theoretically).

So that's it. Finally. Can't wait to get some hobbies that don't involve filling out forms, keeping spreadsheets of conversations with lawyers, and finding new and exciting ways of understanding the concept of en trámite. We plan to have a big party in 2008 to celebrate.

Thanks to all on the board who helped logistically and emotionally.

Congratulations!!!