Unclebeer:
Well, there goes that nifty toilet thead I was about to post. 
Freak The Swedes said you could not be in Sweden for 6 months right? They didn’t say you had to stay in the US did they?
If your main sqeeze lives in So. Sweden why don’t you move to Dennmark (parts of Sweden and Denmark are only 1 hour apart by high speed ferry)
If she is further north Norway or Finnland are the options. Don’t let any thing get in the way of true love.
By the way have you ever been to Sweden in the winter? 
Soda- Thanks. Actually, getting a job won’t be that hard once September rolls around and all the college kids go back to school. And as far as learning Swedish goes, that shouldn’t be a problem. Actually, my GF teaches Swedish to American immigrants for a living. Although, the going to school option is a thought. How does their college program work for American immigrants?
Tymp- Wow, that’s one hell of an offer. Actually, I probably won’t need to take you up on that, I’ll probably be able to find someplace to live. But I’ll definitely keep you in mind. As for the bitterness, that’s past and gone. I was pretty pissed for a while there. But it’s my birthday tomorrow, and I refuse to be depressed on my birthday.
Otis- I’m completely sure. I called the embassy and asked them about it in detail, and to the best of my knowledge, I’m screwed. I wouldn’t doubt that the rules have changed since then. And I know they’ve been cracking down on immigration lately.
Lucky- Thanks! After that story, my situation doesn’t seem nearly so bad!
Jonas- Thanks for the advice. I never thought of contacting an immigration lawyer, though it seems like a good idea. Do you know any? Know how much they cost? As to the rest, I don’t think there’s a clause saying you have to file outside of Sweden, but what I read and heard is that Americans have to file in Washington D.C… And I think I’ll be absolutely sure about that before I head to Sweden. I’d hate to get there, then have to come back.
Rick- Thanks, that’s a damn good idea. I’ll have to check out what the neighboring countries policies are. And as far as the winters there, I live in Minnesota, I’m not worried.
FF, here’s a link to my university where you can find some information on studying in Sweden. I don’t know where you’ll live, but I’m sure it’s a good starting point.
Yours truly,
soda
Damnit. I screw up. Here’s the link.
http://www.lu.se/lu.engindex.html
WTF? What’s wrong now? I know I got it right this time. Anyway, search for Lund Universtity at any given search engine, and well, you get the point.
Freak, I am sorry to hear of your delay in going to Sweden, I know you were really looking forward to it.
I hope the times passes quickly for you and the eventual reunion with your sweetheart is full of happiness.
Hang tough dude, you can do it!
Oh God, I suck. Thanks Sofis.
Anytime.
Ok, where do I sign up?
I can’t give you much advice about what Swedish lawyer to contact, or what the standard fees are, since I have never used the services of a Swedish immigration lawyer. I made a search for Swedish law firms that specialize in immigration law, and I found one in Stockholm. I will e-mail the name and phone number to you. I assume that there are others.
All things considered, your situation is not too bad or unusual, as Lucky pointed out. Just try to be patient. It took my wife about 2 years to obtain all the documents she needed before she could leave China and come to the United States. We are looking at another 5 years of INS and Department of Labor processing before we can get green cards. Still, we are lucky. The oldest green card petitions that the INS were processing in early July 2000 were filed in 1979. And the majority of the world’s population could never get visas for visiting or living in the United States or Europe, of course.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be upset about your situation… You are quite justified in being unhappy about the delay. But the barriers that have been erected to keep people from leaving the areas of the world where they were born, are simply insurmountable for most people. Be glad that for you, they are not. Try to take some comfort in the thought that things could have been much worse.