Where do we go from here...

Thank you everybody for your support! I can't reply to anyone individually at the moment because time is tight, but I'll try to check in with everyone next week.

For now, Leo will be staying in the apartment of an American friend of ours in Rio. It's close enough to São Paulo that he can accompany the process from there, and it's a major city, so he can do his medical exam there, too. If you've got to be stranded in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro is not a terrible place to be!

I have about 30 hours of travel ahead of me as I fly from São Paulo to Miami to LA to Seattle to Vancouver, but the good news is that I was able to cancel my original ticket for a full refund and use my Fulbright return ticket for about US$900. It may surprise you, but that saves me about US$700.

We moved Leo's ticket out 6 weeks -- no change fees! I know the Consulate said 1 month, but I don't believe them.

I'm still looking into the possibility of getting a lawyer involved. I spoke to one Canadian immigration lawyer who expressed "surprise" at what happened to us and called it "subjective" and "hard-lined." I couldn't agree more. I do still think we have good arguments against denying Leo a visa, and if they do hear us out, I'm mildly hopeful that Leo will join me in a few months.

I have to be hopeful, because if he can't I'm getting on the first plane back here and kissing the Canadian dream goodbye.