Adopted at 3 years old away from Canadian line. Bio grandmother was Canadian
My biological grandmother (Gen0) was Canadian. My bio father (Gen01) was born in the USA. I was born in the USA (Gen2). When I was 3 years old, my mother’s new husband adopted me. We stayed in touch with my bio family occasionally over the years. My bio father passed in 2022, but miraculously his wife found my original birth certificate, and sent it to me.
I have my Gen0 grandmother’s Canadian birth certificate, and my Gen01 bio father’s birth certificate (showing grandma’s maiden name), and both my original (showing bio father) birth certificate and my reissued birth certificate after adoption. I have submitted all of these with my application (along with my subsequent name changes by marriage).
I don’t think I qualify as an “adoptee” by citizen by descent rules, but I don’t see a lot of discussion around this scenario. I’m now worried that the IRCC will see “adopted” in my forms and reject my application.
It seems like a clear lineage to me as I’m able to prove my biological line. I don’t have court documents showing the adoption, because in California I’d have to petition the court to get these, which is a lengthy process. I was about to do that when my bio-step-mom found my original birth certificate.
I keep wondering if an IRCC agent will see ”adopted” on my form and reject my application. Am I overthinking this? I included bullet points of clarification in the form, and included a table of contents with my application that explained the documents and timelines. Should I assume that the IRSS agents will understand I was adopted out of a biological line, not into one?