Moving abroad is a unique experience – anyone can tell you that. There’s so much to look forward to – the sights, the sounds, the culture, the food, meeting people from all over the world, travel opportunities, and even just the chance to live in a different house or neighborhood than we’re used to (and to rent vs. own said house – a welcome change from the constant repairs and costs of maintaining a 130-year-old Victorian!). Not to mention the potential positive impact on our two kids, who will grow up with ‘moving to Germany’ as part of their life narrative. When difficult choices and situations come up, as they will as part of any move, it feels ungracious to complain about anything at all, because we well know that the positives will far outweigh any speed bumps we need to hop over on the way.

However.

Matt’s application for his work visa – which is necessary in order for us to ‘register’ with the German government – which is necessary for us to pretty much do anything in Germany, like move in to the house we’re under contract on, obtain the four kinds of mandatory insurance, get the kids in school, or even for Matt to start work and be paid – was REJECTED.

Yep, that’s right. Rejected. And for reasons that can only be described as ludicrous, shenanigans, nonsense, tomfoolery – choose your favorite synonym for ridiculous, they’re all appropriate. The problem wasn’t anything related to the application – all the documents, certifications, signatures, dates, photocopies, originals, etc, were all in order, thanks to a team of immigration attorneys along with the incredible attention to detail that my husband has (at work, at least – let’s look the other way on how he loads a dishwasher).

No, here’s the supposed issue: the German consulate doesn’t do Matt’s type of appointment at the appointed time he was given by the German consulate. You read that right: the German consulate assigned him a 10:00am time slot, verified by the German consulate when he arrived 30 minutes early to his assigned time, on the assigned date. However, they do not do work/resident appointments at 10:00am, they do them at 8:30am. And no, they would not be able to take him today, tomorrow, or even in the coming weeks (this doomed appointment was scheduled – by the German consulate – 5 weeks prior). Did I mention that the German consulate is in Chicago (it’s the closest one to Cincinnati) – so Matt had traveled there, missing two days of work and spending a good deal of money, only to have them confirm their own mistake and say, ‘Too bad!’?

So, bottom line is that, as of today, 52 days before our family is set to fly via one-way ticket to Germany, our backs are against a wall, with fairly limited options for a signed, approved visa that will allow us to make this move. Any investments and progress we’ve made throughout this process – which are significant – are on hold as we wait to make sure Matt’s assignment can actually happen. He will likely have to squeeze in a trip to Germany in the next couple of weeks, obtain & pay for a temporary residence somewhere in the region, register as a German resident somewhere in the region, and apply for a temporary work visa in-person in Frankfurt, Germany (if only it were our beloved Frankfort, KY backwater!). Once he has a temporary visa, we can then take that flight to Germany, where he can then re-start the application process for a permanent work visa in-person. We don’t know if all of this will work – it’s hard to have confidence based on what just happened in Chicago – but at least we do still have options, and so long as we have options, we’re going to keep looking forward.

At the moment, though, we’re on hold. Feeling in limbo might be the hardest part – I’d scheduled our moving plan down to nearly the hour, and that’s no exaggeration. This holding pattern means scheduled hours will become scheduled minutes, and minutes will become even more precious, and man I can feel my neck tightening just thinking about it all. But, we have to remember we’re doing all we can that’s in our control, and we need to trust that whatever happens is as it should be. One day, we’re going to look back on this and laugh, whether that day occurs in Germany, or in our awesome old Cincinnati Victorian, or both. This is part of our narrative, and I am grateful for it.

And now, a dash of Schadenfreude – how the Germans refer to ‘malicious joy’: