[DenzilDragon]

We're UK citizens, currently in the US on a work visa. Would we still be able to become licensed foster parents?

We'll be beginning the switch to green cards later this year - do we need to wait until that goes through to begin? Or is even green card not good enough?

[DianeS]

As far as I know, there is no citizenship requirement to provide foster care. As long as you're in the USA legally, that is.

I know permanent legal residents can adopt US citizens, so I would imagine that would be OK for foster care too. Don't know about doing it while here on a work visa, but there isn't an automatic problem with it that I know of.

You'll probably have to call the agency you want to work with and ask, to be sure. Keep in mind that a lot of people aren't going to know the differences between the visas, and you may have to actually attend an orientation session to get your question answered, as the people on the phone may not have any clue. But it never hurts to ask.

Good luck!

[DenzilDragon]

Thanks, Diane! The people on the phone didn't have a clue, which is why I was asking in here. Hopefully there won't be a problem with it.

[trixiebell]

I am a permenent resident, foster mom for 2, currently adopting 2 kids...hubby is a citizen though...it has never been an issue for us, our adoption worker actually gave a reference to USCIS to state we had a real true marriage so they certainly never took issue with the visa situation.

[mynewhomeiowa]

Originally Posted by trixiebell

I am a permenent resident, foster mom for 2, currently adopting 2 kids...hubby is a citizen though...it has never been an issue for us, our adoption worker actually gave a reference to USCIS to state we had a real true marriage so they certainly never took issue with the visa situation.

I have often wondered about that. I was born in the US but I am single and wondered if I dated someone born outside of the US if it would be an issue.

[blueflower]

DH and I are in our classes to become licensed. I am a citizen but he is not, though he is a permanent resident. (Yeah, many people don't know the difference, but neither did I till we got married. ) When I called the state of IL to inquire about becoming FPs I mentioned that he wasn't a resident and asked if there were any other forms or such that I should be aware of that we needed to fill out.
Here was their final reply:
1. he can't be a foster parent because he doesn't have a social security number and therefore we can't do a background check - WRONG! He has a SSN and has for the past 15 years he has been in this country,
2. his green card has to be renewed every 6 months so he can't provide stability - WRONG! it is every 7 years or such ... maybe longer because it doesn't get renewed for another 4 years,
3. since he is a citizen of another country he could leave the country at any time he wishes - okay this one is true ... but so could I because I too have a passport ... yeah, I told her that one and the fact that this was a really bad reason. Also, he has been here for 15 years,has a house, and a good job. Why would he decided to leave now?

After that conversation, and me telling her all her boss's boss's reasons were wrong (and pretty much unfounded) I never heard back. I did say it in as polite and calm manner as I could muster. DH was so mad that I asked about it in the first place! I think, after we are licensed, I am actually going to complain to the state about this. If they are in such need for FP, then you might think they would at least stop making up rules on wrong assumptions that keep qualified people from becoming FP. Okay, rant over. It is just too fresh for me.

We then applied with a private agency, didn't ask any questions about it up front, and have had no issues. Personally, I would just apply and not bring it up. Your accents would probably give it away anyway. It might help to have your green cards first, but you may be able to begin the process, take the classes, and just wait for you license. I would think they could do a background check even if you don't have a SSN, because you should have something similar right? I mean, I'm pretty sure they do background checks in the UK. =) You might even do respite instead of full time FPing if they decide you should have your green card first.

[blueflower]

One more thing, on our background info or one of the other forms it actually has a place that asks for citizenship or place (country?) of birth. I'm too lazy to get up to look right now, but I remember putting in DH's info there. It was up front, so it isn't like we were hiding it or they had to go hunting for the info. It was right there in a little slot where they asked for it. I don't think they have asked for his green card info, but we did have to provide a copy of our birth certificates and driver's licenses as standard information they requested.

[anilorak13ska]

DH and I are both naturalized citizens, and it took us YEARS to finally get our citizenship (DH-5, me-15 [3rd time's the charm!]).

So most people really don't know what they're talking about when they say stuff like "you can leave anytime". I can still leave anytime. Like the other poster said, I have a passport!

And we did have SSNs from day one of getting our green cards.

I know for adoption (and I'm not sure if this was both intern'tl and domestic), at least one spouse had to be a US citizen, bc we first looked into adoption bf we were citizens.

Even if you could become licensed foster parents in your current visa status, once that status changed, I'd imagine that you would need to update it.

It doesn't hurt to ask (and keep asking until you get to a person who actually either knows or will bother finding out). But I'd expect at best that you may be able to begin the classes, but not get your clearances and license until after your residency is approved.

I wouldn't be surprised if they wouldn't let you start until you have your green card bc anything dealing with USCIS can take a really long time, and any training you'd do now would need to be repeated bc it'd be out of date. (We need to take annual training to stay foster parents)

Good luck on all counts!

[denham]

I am a permanent resident, my Dh is a US citizen, I was asked to provide proof of citizenship, my SSN, AND a copy of my Green card. Please remember that when working with,most case workers, they are not up to date on immigration policies. It was not until our file went to DSF for the final review that they asked for my green card information - no one at the foster agency asked for it prior to that.
Work visas are tricky in dealing with others children. There is more of a risk involved when you are not a citizen.
I would wait until the green cards come in before applying.

[ingi]

In Texas in order to adopt one of the parents MUST be a US citizen, I do believe that this is actually nation wide.

[denham]

I checked my paperwork, in Florida one of the parents must be a US citizen. Not to burst your bubble, but trying to save you some time and energy.

[WizardofOz]

I have adopted my son privately when I still had an H1B visa, not even a green card. I had a SSN then, even before I was permanent resident!

Three years I got my green card. I just adopted another baby domestically, via private adoption.

About adopting from foster care: I contacted Texas foster care system 4 years ago and asked them about fostering/adopting. It took a long time to clarify the real answer.

So here is what we figured out:

1.l If one spouse is U.S. citizen, you can adopt from wherever you want - internationally, foster care and private.

2. If both of you are permanent residents or if you are a single permanent resident, you can adopt domestically only, either privately or from the foster care system.

3. You cannot foster/adopt on an H1B visa. However, you can adopt domestically, private or via foster/adopt as a permanent resident (i.e. green card holder). However, some counties might still not allow the foster care route, mainly because of lack of experience/knowledge.

Generally, there is a great deal of ignorance in the foster care system (and in the American public) regarding what "permanent residents" are all about.

There is another thread on this forum which addresses international adoption for permanent residents. A lady there actually argued with me that permanent residents are a kind of illegal immigrants (if it was not so sad, it would actually be funny !). She went on and on about how permanent residents were a population that tries to get away from fulfilling the duties of American citizens. After educating her on the rights and duties of permanents, she realized that we had all the duties except for jury duty, that our duties included military draft and that we had a lot fewer rights than citizens.

My advice is not to just take a "no" for an answer. The person who will answer the phone will probably not have had prior experience and will not know the correct answer. It is better to do thorough research before calling up.

[DenzilDragon]

Thanks, everyone!

I've been able to get a bit more info, and it seems we would need to have our green cards before we could do fost-adopt. But getting our green cards is years away, so I guess fost-adopt will have to wait until the next adoption.

We can't do international adoption, but that's mostly due to visa issues - can't get a visa to bring a child into the country with us until it's lived with us for 2 years.

So, we're left with independent adoption. Well, at least that's made the decision for us & stops us agonising over it any longer!