I'm pleased to report that this issue seems to have been resolved. Last Wednesday the J-1 Program manager sent us a letter stating that we could not have additional visas because they were about to announce the termination of the program. The letter gave the impression that it would be immediate. Since then a lot of political water has passed under the bridge and today I received a phone call from the same gentleman with an entirely different story. He told me he would immediately authorize all the visas we want and that it would be at least two years before any substantive changes take place. He thinks that the program will transfer into the Department of Homeland Security for management purposes but will remain otherwise unchanged.
This is a big relief for us of course. I think the Program manager jumped the gun and did not anticipate the speedy reaction from the aviation community, especially the Helicopter Association and AOPA. We've put up with a lot of silly new rules since 9/11 and there comes a point where enough is enough.
The bottom line is that this mini-crisis appears to be resolved and anyone planning on coming to the States on a J-1 should not worry about whether it will be available. For those of us in the business we have some work to do to make sure that the promises we received today will hold up for the future.
Patrick Corr
President,
Helicopter Adventures, Inc.