Originally Posted by
bafanguy
LW,
Interesting and it raises another question or two:
(1) If an "aviation" degree is the only one meeting the criteria for an E3, does this put non-av degree holders in the same category as those with no degree at all, leaving time in the industry as the sole determining E3 criterion ?
(2) How is the "time in the industry" being calculated ? Paid, professional years only...training years + paid, working years ?
"...airlines can file the paperwork for anyone to take to a consulate..."...true enough. But it's the responsibility of the consulate to pass judgement on quals presented; applicants only have what they have. This looks like government makes the mistake...and YOU get punished for it. Yet another reason why the kakistocracy is never to be trusted.
I'm not an absolute expert by any means but my understanding is that if all procedures are being followed as written and as a number of consulate staff are now operating then: 1 - Correct, if no aviation degree, time in industry is what you need. (The staff member I saw last time and fairly recently was extremely thorough on seeing these items) And 2 - Time in industry is time you have been a paid, working commercial pilot. Which I know a number folks have had to start to back up with a letter of service on company letterhead from their respective former employers etc...
Professional Amateur - I don't think the music is anywhere near stopping thankfully. I just suspect there will now be a stronger emphasis on your actual qualifications in the future for applicants. There are certainly a huge amount more consulate rejections going on now for applicants than there was 6-12 month ago. But who knows, things change so quickly based on who's in office and what the current political climate is...unfortunately at the moment neither are too positive when it comes to immigration matters!