Sparky in exile

So, yeah, I’m leaving the UK for a bit. I’ve been here for the last four years on a series of visas, and my current work permit expires in a little under two weeks. We haven’t been able to get the right paperwork for my next visa in time, so I’ve got to be out of the country before the stroke of midnight on the fateful day. Now my only option is to stay away until all the paperwork is sorted, and then reapply from within the United States.

It sucks, hugely. Although I’d already planned to travel for most of December anyway, suddenly I have to buy extra plane tickets, exploit the hospitality of friends for longer than I’d planned or wished to do, and scramble to fill that time with extra work when I’d been planning to take a break after the completion of my job. And instead of settling into the new year with a new job, new opportunities, and the return to solvency, I’ve got to head back to New York and float from couch to guest room to couch while I deal with bureaucracy, burn through what little money I have, and just hope things work out.

The sudden change in plans is one thing, but the uncertainty is the bit that’s doing me head in. It’s likely, yes, but not certain that I’ll be allowed back. The Home Office has been really difficult about my sponsorship so far — the main reason it’s taken so much longer than anticipated — and I have to throw what I can fit into a suitcase and just hope the final details fall into place. If they find fault with any part of my application, than I could really be stuck an ocean away from the life I’ve been slowly building for myself for the last four years. Even if all goes well, I don’t know how long it will take to come back and for things to settle down. This is already screwing upplans to travel and teach in January, and may even screw up another trip to India I was starting to plan. I’m rattled that the stability I’d been holding out for has been snatched away for a while more.

Even if things go well and I can get myself back to England by the end of January, there’s another problem. This will probably throw off my plans to apply for permanent settlement, since the interruption in my visa status may invalidate the time I’ve spent here already, leaving me with another five years to go before I can stay without any trouble.

So that’s that. I’ll be living out of suitcase for at least two months — hoping for the best, trying not to be a burden, working when and where I can, and waiting to see if things fall apart of fall into place come February or so. Wish me luck!