License Conversion to FAA

[kelvin]

G'Day All, i was just wondering if anyone could tell me what's involved in converting Australian license into FAA ones. If any has successfully done it or knows anything about it i would love to hear from you. please post a response or my email is: [email protected]
Cheers!

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Kelvin,

There are two ways you can go.

The first one is just getting a conversion at an F.A.A. F.S.D.O. and they will issue a licence based on your licence. All you will need to do is a B.F.R. (Biannual Flight Review) which should not take more than 1.5hrs ground and 1.5hrs flight with an instructor.

The second way is a little more involved. You can go for a full F.A.A. Licence. That will consist of taking the written exam for the licence you seek along with the practical exam with an examiner.

The good news is all your flight experience counts towards any F.A.A. rating you seek.

If I can help answer any more questions, just let me know.

Good Luck,

Capt. Richard J. Gentil, Pres.
Naples Air Center, Inc.

[2p!ssed2drive]

I'm bringing this thread back to life! I'll be moving to the USA in about a year or two. Basically, I need the nitty gritty details on how to convert my CASA licence to an FAA.

My qualifiactions

- CPL
- Multi Engine Command Instrument rating
- All CASA ATPL exams passed
- Night VFR Rating

Thankyou to the gentleman above for being very informative. Is this information still current? (that post was about 4-5 years ago!). I've tried the FAA website but couldn't find anything.

Please be as informative as possible.

[itsbrokenagain]

2pissed, first thing is that you cant say the work pissed and mean drunk here in the USA, they will think you are really angry with them if you say that!

What Richard says above is still true, as a Oz pilot who just converted a ATPL to a FAA ATPL its true I am qualified to put my 2 cents worth forward. You can jump straight to a CPL based on your current licence level, BUT dont do it if you are coming here for a job ( ie you won the greencard lottery) or will work somewhere else on your newly acquired FAA licence. Reason is that its going to bite you on the ass later on, what I found from my real life experience is that you need to have ALL FAA licences from PPL onwards to apply for a job here, a lot of application forms online wont let you apply/hit submit unless you can fill in all the licence levels.

This is what I did:

Mandatory 3 hrs prep for PPL with instructor...
and another 3 hrs prep for the Instrument rating test.
Did the PPL and Instrument rating in a single engine, in one test

Plus there was a written test for the PPL and one for the IR, go to www.sportys.com to have a practice, they have a free test prep section of their website,

Then is was 3 hrs CPL test prep, and 3 hrs for the Multi engine ride. Then after the CPL theory test, took a single engine CPL test and then got out and jumped in the PA44 for a multi engine add on to the CPL and a Multi engine instrument rating add on.

Then without any prep I went for the ATP checkride in a PA44, after doing the written for it.

Also the PPL, IR and CPL writtens need you to have a Flight instructor sign you off for them.

Try www.faatest.com for your written prep.

Took me 5 weekends to do the above, as I was working for Richard at Naples at the time. Now flying a little Citation Ultra which is really really fun.

Have fun PM if you have any non forum questions about it all.

[Aussie_Pilot]

G'Day once again future collegues

i hope i put the thread in the righ section...

i'm earning all my flight training in Australia, my goals is to become at least frozen ATPL's holder within 2 years from today

why i choose Australia? is a big country lots of flying opportunity ( I heard in terms of jobs too) and eventough i'll leave after my student visa expire, i've passed 3 fantastic year in one of the most beautiful countries in the world...

I'm Italian but i'm holding the american citizneship at the moment altough i hope to stay in Australia, i've to consider the US way too so...

Can someone give me information about license' conversion from C.A.S.A. ( Australia ) to F.A.A.(America) ?

I heared that is not too hard is that true?

Thanks to everyone who reply my post
Carmine

[Tinstaafl]

As far as converting your future Oz licence is concerned you will have a CPL and nothing more. Although it's a convenient short hand, fATPL doesn't exist although in Europe it's usually taken to mean CPL & IR issued + ATPL exams completed. Foreign authorities only recognise the licence you hold in your hand, not some potential future issuance.

Your question has been asked a number of times on PPRuNe. Use the search function & you should find the info. you're after.

The short answer is that you will need to meet FAA minimum experience requirements for the licences ('certificate' in US terminology) you seek eg CPL or ATPL, pass the relevent theory exam for those certificates (single exam per certificate, including IR), pass at least a Cl.2 medical (CPL & higher certificates) and finally pass a flight test for the issue of each certificate.

Note that FAA min. experience requirements are often different to Oz or JAR-la-la land specifications.

[MrHorgy]

This may have been covered before, but I have some specific questions about the process for anyone who has already done this.

1) The FAA website states:

"You must have the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) that issued those certificates verify the validity and currency of the foreign license and medical certificate or endorsement before you apply for an FAA certificate or authorization. "

-Ok, so I get the CAA check done first then forward that to the FAA, correct?

2) The FAA website also states:

"A person who is applying for a U.S. rating or medical certificate on the basis of a foreign license must apply for that certificate at least 90 days before arriving at the designated FAA FSDO where the applicant intends to receive the U.S. certificate. This initial application step is the responsibility of the applicant."

-This implies I PICK UP my FAA certificate in the States from a FSDO. What is this? This is also 3 months in the future, is that a rigid timeframe? I've been rostered to LAS in 45days time and wanted to fly.

Is that correct? Any help greatly appreciated.

Horgy

[skywise320]

Hi Mr Horgy. Sorry I can't be of any help but I too are wanting to convert an Oz licence to FAA. Can you please tell me where on the FAA web site you have found your info? You can obviously navigate better than me.
Much appreciated

[MrHorgy]

Ici:

http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/foreign_license_verification

Hope that helps you!

Horgy

[B2N2]

Explanation is here:
http://www.eaa-fly.com/2.0/en/MainTrainingKonvertierung.html

Can take a maximum of 90 days, the quickest that I have seen is 14 days.
Delay is generally with the CAA or other European aviation authorities, NOT with the FAA as they have been dealing with this for quite some years now.
Regards,

[Eggwhite]

if this only applies to PPL or ATPL as well. I plan on moving back to the States in a few yeas, I currently have an ICAO ATPL AND a frozen JAR FCL from the UK, just wondering if anyone knows, do I need to convert to FAA or can I bypass ... the whole lot. It would suck to do it all over again! :ugh:

Thanks.

[sicky]

Just out of interest, is it possible to convert to an FAA and still fly with both an FAA and CAA licence, if you know what i mean?

I know you must sit the exams over here to convert FAA to CAA, but what does it take to go from CAA to FAA?

I doubt i'll ever have to think about doing this, but was just interested to know!

[B2N2]

Eggwhite, based on an ICAO ATPL, all you need to do is take the FAA ATOPL written test (single test, 100 questions) and take a checkride with an examiner.

Sicky, the conversion process leaves you with 2 licenses, your UK one and a US restricted based on your UK license. You need to carry both in order to fly a N-reg as PIC.
You DO NOT hand in one license to get another one, it is not a trade, you keep both.

[sicky]

Thanks B2, clears that up nicely

["V"]

Hi there,

Coming for a trip to the US for a holiday in november/december/jan up to the northwest and searching for some info about license conversions from aus to FAA license, have heard it is quite streamlined.

Currently have about 900 Total time all on singles and no IR, considering doing initial IR in the USA too.

Can anyone shed some light on any of these for me??

Many thanks in advance

V :ok:

[winch launch]

Hi,

I am a JAA CPL-IR pilot. I would like to convert to FAA, possibly in florida. Does anyone know a cheap school to do that?
What kind of visa do I need and what administration steps do I have to follow?

Thanks

Winch

[metar]

Hi all... really have trolled the threads and struggling to figure this out. Any thoughts super appreciated...

I am JAA CPL / ME / IR and looking to get an FAA equivalent (so I can log hours in a N-register multi amongst other reasons). I have 700 hours. Can anyone let me know which FAA written exams I need to sit, and what flight training / exams I would need / paperwork etc. Any suggestions about where I can do all this (either UK or US) would also be great.

[BobC]

Hi Metar

Based on my experience (which was 10 years ago), all the FAA`will give you is a PPL. You will need to do the ground and flight tests for the ME CPL and the IR. As you need to be signed off for these tests by an instructor, you will have to take as much instruction as it takes to satisfy the signer-off that you are ready. You might try the FAA web site for more.

Good luck

Bob

[lilpilot]

10 years is a long time, a lot has changed, namely you need a backround check, done by the dredded TSA if you want a US rating or certificate. You don't need this if you just want to build time (that might change anyday as well)
Otherwise, I think it's a lot easier to convert from JAA to FAA then the other way around.
You can actually fly in the US without full conversion, the FAA can issue a US "attachment" based on your current license, that validates your foreign license.
Or you can do a full conversion, you'll need the CPL written exam and the IFR written exam. Plus you'll need to do some training and the practical test(s). There are no minimum or maximum hours.
There is no written for the multi engine rating. Also note that you can do a Multi engine CPL without ding a single engine CPL but then you won't have a SE-CPL, since SE-ME are "class ratings" which is different from the IFR rating (the SE-ME stays with your PPL or CPL certificate, the IFR rating "attaches" to anything you fly)!!!
The rules are somewhat elastic here compared to the JAA system, so there's a lot of leeway for schools to develop their own styles, and requirements as for hours, ground schooling and sign offs.
Also there's some difference in Part 61 and Part 141 training, but not when it comes to the checkrides no matter where you train, you'll be held to the same standards (PTS).
The written exams cost $80-100
The practical exams are b/w $200-450
There are no FAA fees - God bless America there.

I also strongly encourage you to join the AOPA there's a myriad of information they provide. Plus as a student pilot your membership is free for 6 months Two-thirds of american GA pilots are members.

One last important thing is the visa issue, well I don't know much about it. Last year british citizens could still come to flight train w/o any extra visa issues, but I really don't know what's going on with that right now. (the flight training purpose is the issue not the british citizenship itself)

Hope this helps,
P.M. me if you need exact schools or something

Good Luck
Lil

[chrisbl]

As far as I recall there is a special 50 question knowledge test to convert the IR, not sure another flight test is required for the IR. For the Commercial there is another knowledge test of 100 questions in 3 hours. You should be able to do the SE/ME Commercial with about 20 hours of training.

you will need to get a visa and TSA approval. This means using a flight school with immigration status. Your best best here is to contact the many Florida based schools that advertise here on Pprune and ask them for the full SP.

Its will surprise you at how much simpler it is.

[B2N2]

First order is to apply for the "restricted license based on a foreign license"
This process takes about 4-6 weeks.
Take the "Foreign pilot Instrument written test", this one is different from the regular Instruument written test.
Take the written test score with you to a regional FAA office (FSDO) where you will pick up the restricted license. They will add the IR.
You will need to complete a BFR (Bi annual flight review) and an IPC (Istrument proficiency check) with a US instructor before you can fly PIC under IFR.

If you want a US CPL IR you will need to take a FAA Instrument practical test, the Foreign IR does not carry over to the US CPL

If you take the IR test in a Multi you will get both the Single and Multi IR.
You will be required to have a visa for any flight training leading to a Private, Instrument or Multi engine rating.

As to where you can do this?
Click on my username then "my homepage" to the left here......:ok:

[colonial pilot]

Transport Canada has just announced a new agreement with the FAA that allows holders of Transport Canada Civil Aviation Licenses to convert their licenses to FAA certificates by sitting an Air Law and Communications exam. The only other requirement is to hold the appropriate Medical Certificate.
This goes both ways as well so holders of FAA certificates can sit an air law exam and hold a TCCA medical certificate and receive a TCCA License.
From what I have read this includes ATPL CPL, IR and type ratings. So if you have type ratings on your tc certificate the FAA will honour it. Also proficiency check in one country will re validate or renew checks in the other country.
The implementation date is Dec 1 2006.

Any comments?

[00Viggen]

Very interesting... I will be keeping on eye on this as I have a Transport Canada documents (CPL, ME IFR etc).

Having priced out a transfer of licences to JAA CPL and ME IR to be around £15000, this would save me a great deal of money, and allow me to fly a large number of N-reg planes in the UK, whereas I have yet to see a C-reg here...

Speaking of which, if anyone knows of a C-reg plane here in the UK (aside from the Excel Airways A320 I see landing at Cardiff over my house all the time), let me know... Would be a fantastic hour building opportunity.

[hghazoly]

i need to know what to do to convert my IACO CPL to FAA

[justanotherflyer]

Hi all

I want to convert my JAA CPL IR to the FAA equivalent. What is the cheapest, most sensible way to do this? I am based in the UK at present - where can I do the ground exams here?

[youngskywalker]

You can do the FAA exams at flightsafety EGLF or at Paris as I did. Depending how many hours you have I would have thought the best thing would be to go straight into the FAA ATP, requires 1500 hours total and some other requirments. The exact requirements can be found in the FAA equivelant of LASORS the 'FARAIM' which can be purchased in the UK.
As far as I know you would have to do:

FAA 1st or 2nd class medical (this can be done by several AME's in the UK.) about £100 ish

ATP written exam.

At least 3 hours training with an FAA instructor prior to the check ride.

Check ride with an FAA examiner which includes an oral exam that can last anything from 30 mins to quite a few hours.

There is a well known ATP specialist provider in the US that seem to have a very good reputation of getting people through and to a high standard, don't think I'm allowed to advertise the exact name!

[B2N2]

CPL written test and training as required to pass the practical test.
You interested in SE or ME CPL?

[latchkeykid]

It is a few years since i did mine, but i took the writtens in London at a cats testing centre. You can buy the Gleim book or CD. it is very easy. The books have the questions and the answers you will see in the test! i took my ATP after reading through the book four times. Only read the correct answer never the wrong ones. They dont really teach you anything hear, you will be way more educated on aviation with your CAA cpl than a 4 year graduate from an aviation college in the USA, so just learn the questions and answers over a weekend take the test on Monday. I got a 98 on my ATP and a 94 on my FE with a $20.00 book for each. As for the flight test they have a couple of differences I had to redo an NDB approach because the FAA observer in the back didnt like the way i intercepted. If you are current flying i would find a cheap school with a local examiner take a couple of weeks of holiday, get checked out with an instructer for a few hours and take the test, maby twice.

[Birky]

Dear all,

I'm doing some flying in the USA in May/June this year and apparently need to 'convert' my CAA PPL to an FAA one. However, I don't yet have a night rating but plan to get that this month before applying for the conversion.

What I need to know is how long it takes for that FAA/CAA process to finish. I don't want to leave applying for it too late so wondered what the latest date getting my UK night rating should be.

Any advice most welcome...

Birky

[mcgoo]

Paris Dakar

I don't think hes here anymore

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3056804&postcount=13

[Birky]

Paris Dakar, many thanks for the advice.

Birky

[Worldtourist]

I am in the process of converting my New Zealand CPL to a Canadian CPL. I have the flight test to do still. The weather in BC, Canada is terrible at the moment....does anyone know if it is possible to sit the flight test in a different country? i.e. one with better weather for flying.

[nuclear weapon]

How do you go about obtaining an Faa licence if you hold a frozen JAA atpl for the purpose of having an faa type rating endorsed on it.
Thanks

[raysalmon]

You will need to take the ATP written, get a FAA medical certificate and take the ATP/Type Rating Practical Test.

[Commander1]

Hi, does anyone know if it is possible to convert the above?

Im just curious to know this as a friend of mine was asking.

Also is it better to get your pilot licenses in the states than anywhere else?

Cheers people :)

[whiskey1]

JAA to FAA is relatively easy compared to the other way.

As for Training in the US, Depends.
Do you want/ are you able to work there?
If you are looking at working in Europe you need a JAA Licence. You can do JAA Training outside Europe just need to pick the Appropriate school, Be that in the US, New Zealand or Australia.

W1

[Commander1]

I dont really mind where the training is done, my boyfriend is a US citizen, he's having problems getting an apprenticeship here and we were thinking of both traning to become pilots but i'd go with the cheapest option and im willing to train anywhere but as long as its not a dingy place etc.

Just wondering if its cheaper to get the FAA then covert to JAA or vice versa, i'd even live permanently in the US if i could get a job there (visa) Basically i'd do anything to get good training but as long as its not somewhere thats a rip off or anything.

I dont know many schools so i had a list of these, just wondering what you guys thought

http://www.naiasc.com/index.html

http://www.flyoft.com/

If theres any other handy info you guys could give i'd greatly appreciate it :)

[Winston]

Hi All
I have a Uk issued JAR ATPL and would like to get an FAA ATPL.

Can anyone give me an idiots guide about what is required? I would like to do it in the UK.

Thanks

[ROI1900D]

Hello everyone,

Does anyone know if I can convert a CPL.IR (ICAO) license into a CPL/IR (FAA) license??? and how???

Need this info urgently!!!
Thanks beforehand and Happy landings!!!

[Lomcovack]

After help, not having any idea about the FAA system of licensing, I have a few questions.

I hold a JAR fATPL, CPL, MEP IR and FI SEP/MEP rating and would like to obtain a FAA MEP CPL/IR equivelent.

What would I need to do ie ground school/flight training.

How much of this could I do in the UK.

Many thanks:)
Ps any recommendations for Uk schools for the FAA ratings.:rolleyes:

[B2N2]

Hi Lomcovak,

You need to do the following;

1. Apply for US "restricted" PPL based on your JAR license
2. Pass FAA Instrument written test
3. Training as required to pass the FAA IR flight test, the IR will now be added to the "restricted" license as " US test passed".
4.Pass the FAA CPL written test
5. Training as required to pass the FAA CPL flight test ME.

You can study for the written tests by using eg Gleim software, ASA or other test prep software.

How much of this could I do in the UK.

I am sure you can find a US certified Instructor to help out with the ground studies, ME flight time is much cheaper in the US.

Ps any recommendations for Uk schools for the FAA ratings.

The problem is finding an FAA examiner to come over to the UK to conduct the flight tests.
What aircraft did you have in mind to do this?

[Lomcovack]

Many thanks B2N2.

Dont really mind which aircraft.

I understand this is ballpark but if I got the faa licence via validation and sat the ground school in the UK.

What sort of air time would I need to complete the IR and CPL assuming I am in current Multi IF.

Regards,

Lomcovack

[B2N2]

What sort of air time would I need to complete the IR and CPL assuming I am in current Multi IF

Unfortunately that is always very hard to say.
Current, meaning 6 approaches in the last 6 months, but how many recently? How much flight time recently?
You have to keep in mind differences in airspace, RT phraseology, IR procedures that you will need to learn.
I would reckon at least 6-10 hrs, 4-6 instructional flights.
You could off course practice in a sim or even a computer simulator to get familiar with the local approaches.

Here are the requirements for the CPL
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=b855455d6087ca9366b513340e9ec05e&rgn=div5&view=text&node=14:2.0.1.1.2&idno=14#14:2.0.1.1.2.6.1.5

[cypilot77]

i am 99% sure that you dont have to pass an IR flight test. If you bring your JAA licenses in an FAA office, they will give you a PPL. Then you pass the written test for the IR which is only 50 questions, bring it there and you get the IR in your PPL. The only flight test you have to do is for the CPL.(plus the written)

[ITFC1]

Try calling Tom at Businessair in Norwich, he can do writens and Flight tests, i just had my finger prints done there

[B2N2]

i am 99% sure that you dont have to pass an IR flight test
Yes you DO. What you are referring to is the "Foreign Pilot Instrument written test" which is indeed the only test you need to do to add a fooreign IR to the restricted PPL.
However,a foreign instrument rating does NOT carry over to the CPL.
You will the have PPL-IR (restricted) and FAA CPL (VFR only)
For the IR to carry over it needs to be "US test passed".

[rennycichella]

Hi,

I have an FAA comercial/multiengine/instrument license, but havent flown in the past 3 years, and havent flown instruments since i got the license which was about 6 years ago.

My question is, is there somewhere here in europe where i can get the bianual done (i live in portugal).
The second question is what do i need to do to reactivate my instrument and multiengine licenses...

I am trying to convert the FAA to JAA and most probably i need to have the FAA one active.

Thank You
Renny Cichella

[LHRjc]

There's an FAA examiner in the Netherlands, see http://www.basic6aviation.com/

I'm sure there's more, that's just one that I know of. Good luck :)

JC

[boogie-nicey]

There are obviously some here in the UK but not too sure about the continent. Surely there has to be one, why not go to the FAA website and see if there are 'registered' schools or examiners in your country that provide this service. Alternatively get a cheap air ticket and dash to the USA and get it done there over a weekend :ok:

[Cirius]

As a follow-up to the above, instead of doing the tests in the UK, if you were to go to the US to do the above tests:
1) would you need obtain TSA clearance and a visa? I am assuming that this would be required as 'training' is taking place rather than just hours building.
2) if obtaining the CPL IR/ME - would you need to do a Single Engine CPL test followed by a separate ME test? Would you be required to do 2 tests for the IR also (one for the SE and one for the ME)?
3) Can anyone recommend a school in the Atlanta area for doing the above training as I may be going over to this region in a couple of months? Especially one that can assist with the TSA and visa process if it is required.
Thanks very much.

[blueocean]

:) Hi there,

already JAA ATPL, I would like to seat for the ATP written (because of much more opportunities ...). As we know, no preparation, no exam passed. So that, where could I find a link to work on it ?
If anybody knows. Many thanks.

[Tsuru]

Hi everyone. Does anybody knows how can I do the conversion of my brazilian IACO CPL/multi/IR to a FAA CPL/multi/IR? Thak you.

[B2N2]

Tsuru, all conversions from ICAO licenses are the same so:
see above,
1. Apply for US "restricted" PPL based on your JAR( read ICAO) license
2. Pass FAA Instrument written test
3. Training as required to pass the FAA IR flight test, the IR will now be added to the "restricted" license as " US test passed".
4.Pass the FAA CPL written test
5. Training as required to pass the FAA CPL flight test ME.

[Tsuru]

Does anybody know any flight school that does pilot training to convert ICAO license to FAA?

Thank you!!!

[Flying Touareg]

WHERE and WHAT lICENSE do you intend to convert?

[Tsuru]

I would like to convert ICAO IR/MULTI/CPL to FAA in USA>

[chitchas]

i'm new in this site and i'm looking for somebody who can give me an insight on getting my FAA commercial cert.

I've already sent my application to Oklahoma City and I'm still waiting for the results. Are there any schools that can fast track my applicaton? By the way, I'm A320 rated from where I came from.

Thanks in advance who ever gives time to this inquiry.:D

[natterjack747]

Hi all,

Currently I have a JAA CPL/IR with more than 1500hrs. I want to convert it into a FAA ATP and am wondering what costs are involved and how best to do it. Which schools are the best for this?

Thanks

[MarkMcC]

As I just went through this, I thought that I would post the link to the thread in the Canada forum where I described my experience. Specifically, the study software that I used was spot on!

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?p=3487721#post3487721

[Noflaps]

I have a Pakistan CAA issued CPL/IR license. I'm looking to convert this license into a FAA equilivalent license. Could someone please inform me about the procedure and requirements, and whether it is possible to convert this license from a country other than the US.

Thank You

[zooom]

I have JAA PPL licence with JAA ATPL theory and now would like to get full ATPL licence with flying hours from USA.

Do I need some conversion before being able to start get flying hours in the States?

Also, my friend JAA PPL licence holder would like to get FAA ATP licence, so beside flying hours how many theory exams does he need to pass in the States?

Thanks for answers... :ok:

[Tinstaafl]

To fly in the USA you will need to either have an FAA licence ('certificate' here) issued on the back of your foreign licence ie the FAA cert. is only valid while the foreign one is valid *or* sit the FAA theory & flight test for the issue of an FAA certificate.

Your friend will need to sit the FAA ATP theory exam and a flight test.

You and your friend will have to satisfy the various security stupidities that are now required. Do a search on these forums & you'll find plenty of threads about what you need to do. For the FAA certificates the applicant will have to meet FAA minimum experience requirements.

Note that the FAA treat each class & category of aircraft as a separate certificate eg Single Engine Land, Multi Engine Land, Single Engine Sea, Multi Engine Sea, Rotorcraft *and* and each licence level as separate certificate ie PPL, CPL, ATP.

This leads to the circumstance that you can have privileges for one licence level valid only in a particular class/category, and privileges for another licence level valid only in a different category eg you could easily hold a PPL-SEL, CPL-SES and ATP-MEL. In my case the only FAA certificates I hold are at the ATP level because those are the flight tests I chose to do when I converted to the US certificates. The three I hold are ATP-MEL, ATP-SEL, ATP-SES.

An advantage of the FAA ATP is that it has integral instrument rating privileges built into the certificate so no need to do a separate instrument rating exam & test.

[zooom]

So you are saying that despite I have JAA ATPL theory I will have to pass written exams for each rating I plan to get in the USA?

Does it means that JAA ATPL(A) "Frozen Theory" which includes CPL(A)/IR/MEPL would be the same as FAA ATP-SEL/MEL (with integrated instrument rating) in the USA?

What do you suggest to me as easiest way to get my JAA ATPL(A) "Frozen Theory", CPL(A)/IR/MEPL based on getting flying hours and ratings in the USA?

[dartagnan]

if you want a FAA ATPL from a PPL JAR, you need to pass the US checkride for ATP/IR multi or single.

and you have to do the IFR, ATPL written test.
you can pass the ATP check ride once you have 1500h tt.

but first get your CPL/IR multi and single.
the ATPL is just 5-6 hours in a seneca and a 2 weeks theory which is relatively easy to get.

[Tinstaafl]

There is only a single fixed wing ATP exam. Do it once & it's valid for every fixed wing ATP flight test you wish to do. Your JAA ATPL exams don't give you any credits WRT any FAA certificate (just like passing Australian, FAA or any other non-JAA exam provides no credit towards JAA exams). Only the licence(s) you have count. Your logged hours count towards meeting the experience requirements.

[Economist3]

Has anyone any experience (cost/time/school etc) of having converted their JAA CPL/IR licence to a FAA licence; including anyone having undertaken the exams/flight tests in the UK.

cheers

Economist3