Divorce and immigration status - children involved

[AZinCAD]

This may be in the wrong section, if it is feel free to move this to the appropriate section.

Background -

I met my wife in the United States.
We have 1 biological child that was born in Canada 2 months ago.
We have been married for 8 months.

I'm in a very scary situation and I don't know what to do. My wife is Canadian and shortly after we were married she wanted to move back to Canada and I agreed. Recently our relationship has disintegrated and I'm facing many difficult decisions on how to move forward. My wife is my family sponsor and I don't have permanent resident status yet because we've only been here (Calgary) for 6 months. We have a little girl that was born in Canada 2.5 months ago. I'm scared that if I get a divorce I won't be able to stay in Canada and I won't be able to be close to my daughter. Does anyone have some advice on what to do, or what options may be available to me. I've searched and it doesn't seem that my daughter can sponsor me, or that I would have some right to be in Canada because my daughter is Canadian.

 

[dominokitty]

That's really tough. If your wife is sponsoring you, and the two of you separate, she can't sponsor you anymore. Having a daughter in Canada doesn't automatically grant you residency, unfortunately.

You won't be able to stay in Canada as a permanent resident on your own (outside of your marriage) until after you've met all of the conditions of your permanent residency, one of which is to live in a marriage with your wife for 3 years (I believe) after you get your COPR. Another option would be to get a work permit and eventually apply for permanent residency on your own.

The only thing I can suggest is to really work on making your marriage work. The first year can be very, very difficult. Nobody tells you that before you get married. On top of that, you have a baby who is practically newborn and it's probably the most stressful time your marriage will ever have. Have you tried counselling? I live near Calgary and can give you some phone numbers to call, if you'd like.

 

[AZinCAD]

We have tried counseling and nothing seems to work. My wife has many personal issues with mental health and substance abuse. I cannot keep my child in an environment like that, her parents even support me taking the child from her. But from everything I've read, I have pretty much a 0 chance of being able to take our daughter back to the States. I've thought about trying to make things work until I get a PR status, but being here is not healthy for me.

 

[taffy7]

Did you apply for your PR after your daughter was born , if so you most likely wont have a conditional PR that's means once you have PR you don't have to stay with your wife.
Unfortunately if you leave or your wife files for divorce or you separate before this you have no legal right to stay in Canada.
An inland application requires both you and your wife to attend the inland interview to land. If you applied outland which i hope you did being an American you can land without your wife.

If you intend going back to the US i suggest you start making a diary of every thing that is going on for you to be able to get custody of your daughter.

On another note if you have already applied i would suggest you applying for your GCMS NOTES AND SEE WHERE YOUR FILE IS AT.