Hi there, an interesting topic to find after isiting this site since years, but yes it is a different world out there today than it was six years ago, let me tell you about my experience. I went to the embassy for my visa and had to wait there for ages, after persuading the consulate that i was not going to fly into any buildings!
(which is what he asked me) he approved my visa. also i was informed that my name was the same match of a suspected wnated terrorist
and he has to make sure i wasn't the bad guy. so i got my visa
and could go to Florida for my ppl flight training BUTit did not guarantee entry into the US.
when I got into the US i was held up at immigration for 2hrs and being somehwat treated seperatly and differently compared to the students i went along with who just showed their I-20's and were free to go. i was asked about how serious i was a practising muslim, weather i've been to any of these countries in the last six months, pakistan, afganistan etc, where was my university inLondon, what was the name of this course i was doing, where my parents came from
all was good and after passing that last hurdle they let me go, since i produced the neccesassry documents, id, spoke gould fluent eng and posed no threat, in fact they seemed pretty nice actually afterwards.
my point is basically they are not going to take any chances and i accept that. being a muslim myself my advise to you is as long as you can provide evidence of your ability to support yourself financially and source of income, your eng is reasonably good, you have your vis/passport, and if your from england or whereverver if you got educational backgrounds then there is no reason whey you should be denied training. After my TSA was approved i began my training and just completed my ppl in florida. during my time there the people i met were awsome, i met other muslims and all ethnic background students, although you might get some prejudice/discriminativeness when applying for jobs, i'd be patient and keep your options open because your far more likely to be selected based on your aptitude and personality than your race/religion. its a tough career, especially for muslims but i'm determined to go all the way through my FATPL and eventually somewhere in the end i will get employed (inshallah) but i'm not gonna let the past stop me from acheiving my dream. good luck!