Have I Ever Mentioned How Much I Love Bureaucracy?

So... clearly there have been a lack of updates from my end recently.

It's been a long couple of weeks, mostly concerning how complicated things have become.

Here's the deal, as plainly as it can be broken down:

I want to stay in Sweden.

There are basically three ways I can go about that - find someone to give me a job and apply for residence and work permits based on that; apply for school here, get in, and apply for a residence permit based on that; or apply for a cohabitation permit.

All have their pros and cons.

So Jenny and I went to the Migration Office after many fruitless phone calls only resulted in my speaking with machines.

The fella there informed me that there is only one way to apply and that is to return home.

Which seems incredibly redundant to me since I am trying to stay here, but who am I to argue? America has made it incredibly difficult for anyone to get in for years now.

Besides, he said they would deport me if I didn't...

He said to expect 3-6 months for them to approve a cohabitation residence permit. With one of those, I can keep renewing it and I can work here without an extra permit.

The other routes would be perhaps more difficult. A work permit requires me finding someone that will give a job to a stranger that is struggling with the language, guarantee me quality pay, insurance, and proof that they need me instead of someone from Sweden or the EU. And then I would immediately have to leave if the job came to an end. If I went for a student permit, it would mean applying for several schools, several programs, waiting to get accepted, then applying for a residence permit based on that. The bright side is that I can work without a work permit.

Or... I can apply for a cohabitation residence permit. Easy, right? All I have to do is apply, surrender my passport, fly to New York at some point when they summon me for an interview, prove to them that I am in a serious relationship and am not just a slacker, then sit back longer and wait for them to make a decision.

Oh, and then the Swedish Embassy in America informed me to expect it to take 6 months because they just aren't "getting around" to the applications very quickly...

Awesome.

Good thing I'm not prone to anxiety at all.

At this point, Jenny and I are alternating days to worry about it all. I get Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays, and alternating Sundays. She gets Tuesdays, Thursday, and Saturdays, along with filling in the Sundays in between mine.

If anyone reading this happens to know important politicians here, or people at the Embassy, or loopholes... it would be much appreciated.

So, unless I decide to go with the illegal immigrant route, my flight lands in Chicago September 14th.

Poop.