Originally Posted by What a Loop
If you already have a FAA licences issued on the back of your CAA/JAR licence, before all the new regulations came into force, but haven't flown in the US for a while(since new regs), is it still valid or do you have to renew it with the new document/info process
Ones an FAA always an FAA. Your license expire the day you die. It's only the privelidges that has a time limit to them. If you obtained an FAA certificate and then converted it to CAA (grandfathered to JAA I assume)....it means you have dual licenses. The FAA ones don't go away.
However - if you haven't flown in the US for some time you WILL need a BFR before you do anything on your own. Regardless of how much flying time you have done in Europe on your JAA/CAA ones every FAA pilot have to have a checkout AT LEAST every two years. Beyond that everything should be a formality....
If you don't have your old FAA papers anymore it may be smart to order new ones. Saves you alot of questions when you pitch up at a flying school in the US.
Order a new one here -
http://faa.gov/licenses_certificates...e_replacement/