I am American and I was married to a Canadian. We had a daughter born in Canada.Do I have to leave?

[scylla]

Thank you for everyone’s reply. I could see that people have very strong opinions about this matter, which makes sense and I respect that. The reality is that I was here for two years with out of work permit, I received a work permit, open work permit in fact and I have been working for about a year. I have all ohip, a drivers license, etc. The point I’m trying to make has to do with perspective. Of course people would take advantage of the system often if having a child was enough to qualify for permanent residence. I do however want to point out the perspective of the family. My daughter is 2 1/2 years old, the most important years of her life developmental wise, I cherish her and only want to be in her life as she is innocent in this situation and deserves to have her father in her life. Being away from her until she’s an adult attempting to visit from the other side of another country is a horrific proposition and frankly heartbreaking. I’m not looking for sympathy here. I appreciate the information regarding options to obtain permanent residence... it’s just the reality of my situation I suppose and I know I’m not alone. I have created the online profile for express entry and should find out shortly whether or not I qualify. I decided to join the form in case other people have had my experience and perhaps were able to work through it.

I'm not going to argue with you about what's in the best interest of your child. I agree with you, it's obviously best to have you around. However this doesn't change immigration law and there's no point discussing 'what ifs' - we need to deal with reality. If you want to stay, you have to work within existing immigration rules - and your best bet is an economic immigration stream. Figuring out how many points you have under EE is a very good first start. You'll also want to take an English language test as soon as you can and also have your education officially assessed since both are required to immigrate. You have time, but you also have quite a bit to get done.

For what it's worth, Canada is by no means an outlier with regards to this situation. You would have the exact same problem on your hands if your wife was American, you were Canadian and you were trying to remain in the U.S. Same goes for the U.K., etc. In the vast majority of countries, having a citizen child provides no immigration benefits to the parents.

 

[Loren2018]

I'm not going to argue with you about what's in the best interest of your child. I agree with you, it's obviously best to have you around. However this doesn't change immigration law and there's no point discussing 'what ifs' - we need to deal with reality. If you want to stay, you have to work within existing immigration rules - and your best bet is an economic immigration stream. Figuring out how many points you have under EE is a very good first start. You'll also want to take an English language test as soon as you can and also have your education officially assessed since both are required to immigrate. You have time, but you also have quite a bit to get done.

For what it's worth, Canada is by no means an outlier with regards to this situation. You would have the exact same problem on your hands if your wife was American, you were Canadian and you were trying to remain in the U.S. Same goes for the U.K., etc. In the vast majority of countries, having a citizen child provides no immigration benefits to the parents.

Very true! Thank you for your time and insight- it’s helpful!

 

[canuck78]

Unfortunately when parents separate children may not be able to see the other parent regularly. If parents lived in different provinces there would probably not be able to see the other parent as often as they would like. Although there is an immigration issue this is really a child custody issue. There are no guarantees that your ex will also stay put.