This subject has been done to death, but one must consider is the tradeoff between
- registering for TSA (not necessary for a CPL but some schools don't know this)
- finding a school which can issue an I-20 so you can get a Visa, and communicating with them, etc, etc (a lot of schools don't read emails)
- doing the paperwork for Visa and TSA (few days total time)
- spending a day hanging around trains, buses, London, the US Embassy
- flying to the USA (a day each end, plus the flights)
- arranging (and paying for) accomodation in the USA
- eating probably really cr*p food in the USA
- renting a car
- learning to drive on the wrong side of the road
- keeping in touch with one's work/business/family
- coping with the time shift on arrival
- getting back to the UK knackered (due to the time shift on return)
(I have a long, complete and current checklist for this, for anybody who really wants it)
and
- doing it in the UK
- living at home
- fitting it within your work/business schedule
- paying way over the top to the FAA training establishment
- paying way way way over the top to the visiting FAA examiner ($1500 per checkride is one example)
etc etc
Well you get what I mean. Training in the USA is far more than just the US Embassy visit.
There is a sizeable market for FAA PPL/CPL/IR training in the UK, and probably also in every other European country with a significant GA activity - because most people that do FAA are doing it for the Euro-wide IFR privileges, which means access to a decent IFR aircraft, which tends to mean full or part ownership, which means having a decent budget, which means you aren't 21 and stacking shelves at Tescos, which is why the training (which can be slotted into the punter's busy lifestyle) is so expensive over here, with $1500 checkrides etc.
My FAA PPL cost me about £3000, a few years ago, and that was about 5 hours' flying, on top of the hundreds of hours I already had. It's worth paying the extra for, for most people that can actually use the privileges afterwards. Unfortunately the scene also attracts a fair number of shysters.
I did my IR in the USA and it was OK as a one-off two-week get-your-head-down dedicated project, but it was on the limit of what I could manage while being in touch with my business and other stuff.
OTOH for somebody who is very young, has no significant work/professional/family commitments, and could just as easily bum around the Amazon for 6 months being chased by rattlesnakes, going to the USA for a few weeks is going to be a fun experience, and (especially if you don't mind living in a very basic cheap motel) will be cheaper than doing it anywhere in Europe.
If one could get FAA training done in Spain, it would do away with the UK ANO problems (article 140 etc). It's trivial for any aircraft owner to pop down there, in their own plane. No Visa and in some cases no TSA either. And the TSA stuff is simple enough if the fingerprints can be done quickly on site (otherwise you have to go to Farnborough to get them done). It's also well away from the UK flight training scene which probably causes a lot of hassle (with the CAA) for anybody doing FAA training here. Should be a nice business opportunity.