Us Aircrew Visas

[sundowner 100]

Does anyone know about what crew visas you now have to hold to go into the US? Do we have to have our finger prints taken every time we enter the US or do we need to get them done before hand?

[speech]

C1/D visa and you are finger printed each time except in those places where they are not yet equiped.

[Daifly]

Everyone applying for a US Visa now has to have an interview at the American Embassy of the country of nationality - it can take up to two weeks to arrange.

ADDITIONAL INFO:

You must have a 50mm x 50mm passport picture. Snappy Snaps do them (http://www.snappysnaps.co.uk/). These are not your standard passport photos out of the machine in the back of Sainsburys.

You have to pay, in advance, the fees for the visa and take the receipt with you. The bank opens later than the Embassy...

Failure on either means back of the queue again!

And yes, all EU passport holders now have to be finger and eye scanned on arrival.

I'm good to you lot...

[727 exec]

If you mention that you are crew, quite often the interview will be earlier...I got offered an interview two days later!!

Queue for the visa appointments in London is a horror story...but...they take the people for the various appointment times out of the queue - so you don't have to be in line hours and hours beforehand (wish I'd known...stood outside the embassy at 0610 for an 0830 - and I was already 10th in the queue).

Wouldn't recommend getting there too late though...it takes ages to go through the security!!

Have a nice day :D

ps wouldn't it be interesting if they made all visiting US tourists stand in line for as long as they make UK tourists stand...

[Kopeloi]

Sometimes I hope that Europe will start giving a similar treatment for Americans. I spent a day to get my visa plus a $100.
Would give them an idea how we feel waiting when they are forced to travel to Washington to wait they visas to fly to EU and then take fingerprints with a good old fashion ink system!
I don´t think that there ever been any security risk from any bizjet jockey.

[doubleu-anker]

This just goes to show how p*** weak the EU really are.

They are allowing the USA to insist on visa's for all crew, yet they are too scared of the good ol' US of A, to require US crews to hold EU crew visa's.

Language edited 4HP

[AA717driver]

We have to get visas to get into China which is a pain.

As an airline crewmember, I had to get a French visa in the mid-80's because they had a diplomatic pissing contest. Never mind that the diplomats didn't need a visa...:*

It will blow over eventually.TC

[V1 Rotate]

What we need is an international Super Licence to cover all ICAO authorities and to negate the requirement for visas.

I had to go through the full process of obtaining a South African ATP, then I had to jump through all the security and background hoops to get an FAA ATP and then go to FS and get typed. Now the Poms want another 14 subjects and a very expensive medical and yet another check ride.

Now add the visa story on top of all that and we are clearly all faced with a nightmare scenario in conduicting our profession.

Surely the time has come for us all to stand up and cut this BS.

V1

[Kopeloi]

I would understand if this US visa requirements had something to do with security but I doubt. Can´t see any bizjet pilot to fly over the pond and attact with their Gulfstream.
Best wake up call for reality would be similar requirement for US crews to EU.
Nikolai

[AA717driver]

v1 rotate--I was told a few years ago that the FAA and JAA were working on making the ATP's common. That was when they were working to make joint aircraft certification work. It worked fine.

But... that was before the JAA came out with their PhD. level program for ATP's.:rolleyes:

Now, forget it.TC

[JJflyer]

I whole heartedly agree. All US citizens should be forced to go through similar process that Europeans are required to endure while entering US of A.

Fingerprints, interviews and the whole show, naturally a 100 Euro price tag on the processing.

Furthermore it is important that all US citizens woking for European companies based in Europe are made to conform with national workpermit and residency requirements. Ie same stuff that we need to go through before we can work in US.

Force the US public to take the "Sour medicine" and sooner or later all the congress reps would be pissed off at thousands of disgrunteled US citizens calling for change of EU policies, now we could have them change theirs.

JJ