Dear Richard:
Thank you for the response. I deal with the Bureau of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the Department of State on a daily basis resolving immigration issues such as these.
You are mixing concepts and visa requirements, a very easy thing to do when working off the internet.
The Visa Waiver program is a waiver of the requirement of the B-1/B-2 visas for visitors of certain countries. The United Kingdom is one of these countries. This program was enacted into section 217 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, through section 313(a) of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. The visa waiver visitor may upon admission participate in B-1 or B-2 activities in the United States for a period of 90 days. Engaging in training and acquiring a license or certificate is permitited under a B-1 and thus under the visa waiver. Please see Letter from Yvonne M La fleur, Chief Nonimmgrant Branch, INS Office of Adjudications, to lawyer Wiliam Z. Reich, File no. HQ 1815 - C (Dec. 21, 1995). Thus, the permissable B-1/B-2 activities include recreational flying training and acquiring an FAA light aircraft private pilots license. This is what we are talking about.
Full time study at an academic or vocational training school is not what we are talking about. This does requires an M-1, J-1 or F-1 visa. If a person wants to pursue a course of study which would lead to commercial license then the M-1, J-1 or F-1 visa would be the appropriate vehicle. This is why serious flight schools acquire authorization to issue the documentation which underpins these visas. This is what you are discussing.
It should be noted that Immigration is the second most complex body of law in the United States. This is because of its fluid and political nature. One cannot read a collection of reguations and FAQ's off a website in isolation and expect to understand the finer points. Experienced attorneys don't even try that. I don't think this is what this website forum intended. We may all want to stop and consider checking what we are talking about before making what could possibly be wild, irresponsible and inaccurate statements. This is a very important topic for some potential pilots out there. They have to make serious financial decisions for their futures and may have no room for error.
I think we should head back to the joys of flying and leave these dry legal topics to wander alone in the wilderness
Best wishes,
Campbell