Originally Posted by
bafanguy
Aussie_pilot85,
Have you or anyone of your personal acquaintance experienced anything like that ?
Nothing humans do should be much of a surprise, I guess, but I'd expect such animosity to be rare...and can just be politely ignored. Don't get sucked into any open hostilities over it....ain't worth it.
People here are probably surprised the USA (of all places) had to turn to the expat market to fill airline seats. I have to admit to being one of them but any animosity should be directed at everyone EXCEPT the expats who're just doing what motivated, enterprising people do: take advantage of a decent opportunity, which they had no hand in creating, to advance their career.
Yeah I’ve had a few choice words said to me over the years too and I’m not even on the E3 visa! I’m a dual US/Australian citizen with a strong Aussie accent. Quite a few sly remarks over the years both jumpseating and at my airline with a couple of situations being very confrontational. Stating that I’m a US citizen normally ends the conversation for me though and I’ve learnt to say this first before the discussion continues if they are questioning why I’m here. There has been quite the discussion on social media recently at my airline regarding E3 visas and the perceived threat to US jobs and I’ve also experienced an uptick in comments directed my way as more people learn about the E3. With US Regional Airlines finally having to raise terms and conditions to attract pilots, the E3 visa along with any foreign visa has been seen as a threat. The Regional Airline Association has been lobbying Congress to allow Regional Airlines to sponsor foreign nationals with the H1B visa with no luck just yet. The perceived flooding of the market with foreigners is being seen as a way for the Regional Airlines to keep wages low. That being said, 99.9% of interactions will be fine, just don’t expect everyone to welcome you with open arms.