Patrick Scully called me this afternoon. He wanted to express his thanks for the information. He does leave next week, however; their plans are fully in motion. He was aware of the approach you suggested, Whodat, but was told by several local lawyers that Mauricio would not qualify. Apparently a very famous musician who's name escapes me - he called him the Paul McCartney of Brazil - was turned down for that artist's visa as not "significant" enough. Patrick was told that while you did'nt have to be a megastar before 9/11,the criteria has gotten pretty ridiculous.

Anyway, I wanted to let you two know we did connect and he was very grateful for any attempts to help he and Mauricio. He will be able to get the German equivalent of a green card within several months and apply for Mauricio immediately after.

(Kind of turns upside down our image of Germany as historically xeno- and every other-phobic and America as the country with "give me your tired, your poor..." emblazoned on its entry port, doesn't it??)