help with visa

[dctinafri]

Hi !
I am new to this site and have a couple of questions.
I am an American living in Los ANgeles and am interested in
going to spain for 6 months to a year. I took a look at the visa
types from the Spanish websites consulate here in LA and none
of them seem to apply to me. They list these types of visas.

* Residency : this visa allows the holder to live in Spain without working or performing any profesional activities.
* Work and residence : this visa allows the holder to work while living in Spain. 
* Student : this visa allows the holder to live in Spain while studying, researching or participating in an internship.

My dilemma is that none of these apply. I want to go to Spain with the intention of working there. However, the work and residency visa is for those who already have a job offer from a company in Spain. THis is not the case for me and probably will not be since its very hard to get a job in Spain from abroad. The residency visa also wouldn't apply because i want to be able to work there and the student visa would also not apply because i would have just graduated from undergraduate study here in Los Angeles.
WHich visa would i apply for if i just want to be able to go to spain, live there for about 6 months to a year, and be able to search for a job once i am there??? any help would be extremely helpful and greatly appreciated

[Irvinicus]

I think the answer is "none", because the Spanish government would probably have a slew of foreigners trying to do this if it were possible. 

The simplest option would seem to be what hundreds of people are doing, which is applying to be an "assistant" at Spanish schools.  The application window for this program seems to have been extended through June, which is good news for you. 

Check out http://www.mepsyd.es/exterior/usa/en/programs/us_assistants/default.shtml for information.  Be forewarned, this will be a headache, but if you want to be legal when you go, you probably don't have much chance.

Let me put it this way: I've taught three years as a full-time ESL instructor in Boston, and a former student took my resume to two English schools in Spain.  The problem?  I'm American, and that involves lots of paperwork for them (and presumably money, taxes, etc.) But they can hire a Brit, no problem (such is my understanding). 

Or...you can just go illegally and hope for the best.  There's tons of info on this site for that, too.

Brandon

[teacherkate]

ok thats great. i had a friend tell me about this site because i am here illegally and looking for a assistant teacher job. so i looked at the site, the only problem is that i don't have a degree. do you know of any schools that hire and give visas sin degrees. i would love to find one.

im the same, from l.a.went to embassay , no visa applied to me, so i just came to madrid. now my tourist visa is expired, i haven't had any problems, i have a full time job but i still am searching for that assistant job...