M1 Visa-only one school?

[pipergirl]

With all these new requirements with entry to the States-
are you allowed to attend more than one school?

What I mean is-
Let's say you attend school A and finish ur course/licence early and you want to make the most of ur time there and get another rating, but school A doesn't offer that particular type of rating and want to get it done in school B while ur there...can u do that?:\

[simkin]

Pipergirl,

As I understand it you will be tied to just one school with an M1 visa.

The M1 visa will only be valid at the school you name when applying for the visa with the US Embassy. I think any training/study towards a rating or qualification at another school will be in breach of your visa conditions. You can, however, undertake hour building or pleasure flying at any school, if it is not training undertaken in order to gain a qualification or rating in terms of flying.

Please don’t take this as gospel, it’s just how I understand it as I am looking in to finishing my PPL in the US, then maybe some hour building at a different school in the same visit.

Hope I’ve been of some help.

Simkin.

[Ninety-Nines]

You may transfer your M1 visa to another school......

The school that you are attending first merely needs to enter you in the SEVIS system as a "transfer out" and will need to elect the school that you are transferring to.

The school that you are then attending will need to "transfer In" through Sevis.

The only thing I would suggest is that you advise the school that you are attending initially so that they can allocate the right amount of as it becomes more complicated when the visa is out of time.

[Keygrip]

As simkin says, don't take the posting as gospel - mainly because his (?) view is incorrect.

The M1 visa is transferrable to any other M1 approved school.

Ask the "old" school to put you on the "transfer" list, then ask the new school to pick you up as a "transfer student".

It's quite possible that, due to the cat fight nature of the aviation industry, the old school will not want you to move away to their competitor and may either say that transfers are impossible or they may simply refuse to do it.

If this happens, move to the new school and get the SEVIS telephone number from them (the old school probably will not give it to you), then YOU - not the school - has to call SEVIS and ask for the transfer. They will do it for you.

If you just change schools without doing the electronic (computer) transfer or calling SEVIS then you would be in breach of your visa and bad things could happen if anybody found out.

M1 transfers are fairly common - but you have to do it right.

[simkin]

Pipergirl,

Apologies for offering incorrect information. It is precisely the cat fight nature of the flight schools that had led me to believe you would be tied to one school with a M1 visa.

I had asked a flight school if I would be able to move schools by transferring my M1 to another school if, for whatever reason, things didn’t work out with them. The answer was ‘no you will have to complete your training with the school named on your M1’. I should have known better than to trust the advice of a flight school keen to get (and to keep) my business.

Keygrip - Thanks for clarifying the situation, your advice may actually open up my own options.