Hey guys, I've been thrown for a complete loop on this, and I'm hoping maybe someone here will have experience about this. So I'm a Chinese citizen with U.S. Permanent Residence, studying here in London on a student tourism visa (Type C, effective for 6 months). As most study abroad students from the U.S. tend to do, I'd like to take advantage of the cheap flights and go visit other parts of Europe, in the Schengen Region. I went to the application center for the German Consulate, where I was told that due to my Type C visa, I'm not technically a resident, and I would have to apply in person at the German consulate in Los Angeles. Doesn't sound practical.

I then found that the Spanish consulate in L.A. allows one to file an application through an authorized representation, so I Fedex everything home only to have my parents call from the consulate, and and be told that though the consulate can accept the application by proxy, I have to be in the U.S. to personally pick up the visa from them, and that there's no other way to apply through Spain.

It seems that every country in the Schengen region has a different rule on this, so my question is, what's the best way for me to obtain a tourism visa to the rest of Europe from London, short of flying back to L.A. to pick up a piece of paper??