[trina]

I'd originally posted this in another thread, but thought I'd re-post it to see if I might be able to solicit more help.

It's a little confusing, so I'll try to explain it best as I can without going into too many details.

I married a man from the Dominican Republic, and we brought his biological son (also a Dominican citizen) here to Canada to live with us. The child has been living with us since he was 7. The mother has had no contact with her biological son, who is now 14.

My soon-to-be ex-husband violently abused his child and myself, and was criminally charged and convicted for this abuse. We separated, and now are working through quite a messy divorce. I went to court here in Canada and was granted full guardianship and parental rights of all three children (including step-son), based on the fact that my stepson has a voice in court and I have been the only mother he has known for over 7 years.

Now I would like to adopt him, so that he can become a Canadian citizen and reap the benefits of this citizenship. He could rightfully apply when he is 18, but I would like to save him going through this process. I cannot sponsor him to be a Canadian citizen unless I adopt him.

The father would never grant permission for this adoption, and the mother - God only knows how I'd even find her.?.

Any thoughts on where I would even start this process? Being that he has lived here for the past 7 years, would I need to go through Dominican law, or would it be based on his current residence, in Canada?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you!