Public Service Announcement
Hi, I am sharing this info for anyone considering making the move over. This excert was received from a recruiter:
Thank you for applying to the First Officer position with xxxx Airlines! Before we start the interview process we wanted to clarify our status on the E3 Visa application. This is a fairly arduous undertaking and can take a couple of months to process. We will help submit the documentation needed for the E3 visa process. Once the visa is approved, there is a process to be eligible for employment in the United States. This includes traveling to the country prior to your potential class date, applying for a social security card (can take up to 3 weeks), and obtaining a United States phone number and address. Xxxx will not provide travel to the States, nor lodging for any of this process prior to ground school or CTP training.
It is worth considering that other E3 regionals will provide flights and accom for the entire period it takes to establish your life here, as well as during your ATP CTP. Ro not underestimate the cost of having to pay for it yourself while not drawing a salary. Also, a very few of the E3 regionals only provide dual occupancy hotel rooms during training, don't have signing bonuses etc.
When it comes to doing your own research, I found airlinepilotforums.com and its airline data pages to be an invaluable resource in making an informed decision.
Good hunting,
DropYourSocks