Whenever I have had the opportunity to fly over in the US thanks to work taking me there, every time at a different outfit (bar once), each time has only required a checkout with an instructor to go off on my own. Sometimes the checkout was less than an hour, sometimes a couple of hours, always a brief on the local area and manouvering/circuits/PFLs etc. To my knowledge I have never been with an FAA examiner, the FI signed my logbook and that was it...
...I have a FAA licence issued on the back of a valid JAR-PPL.
I dont know the rules, but can every place Ive flown with be wrong? I have pitched up each time saying "I just wanna fly, dual is OK, but if Im here long enough, solo?" Half the time I was told I could go off on my own I didnt have the time to come back and do so!! I guess Ive done this half a dozen times since Ive been flying, the last time I was over in the US was last year though.....
Regards, SD..