USA.....??

[A320Dreamer]

Hey there.

I'm just woundering what the odds would be for a guy in the EU to obtain a green card / work permit to work in the states? Personnaly I think this is close to impossible, but I don't quote me on that since I have no clue to be honest.

Thank you.

BTW, I'm from Sweden.

[INNflight]

Not a snowball's chance in hell as a low-houred pilot.

[A320Dreamer]

I hope you realize that I'm asking what the possibillites of me getting a work permit / greencard are. Not the odds of me finding a job! Unless ofcourse immigration looks at your flying hours? Then I take my statement back. But I doubt they do!

[INNflight]

Let me re-phrase:

Getting a green card is not something easy. There's a reason that millions of people play the green card lottery every year.

You need to have qualifications which they would think are an asset with you being in the country. A university degree, a lot of professional experience in a specific industry. That helps. Being middle to upper management in an international company helps. Having experience in anything really.

Being a low-houred pilot (or even a pilot with 4k hours) and no other qualifications does not make you any more egligable than a farmer from a 3rd World country applying for a Green Card.

They have tons of pilots, in fact more than they can deal with, so unless you have other qualifications AND enough money for a good immigration lawyer...

Snowball > Hell

Could mary some SoCal girlie though, would be more fun than all of the above :E

[CrazyStuntPilot]

If you consider emigrating to the USA, I suggest picking up a book about how to get a green card/work permit. Nolo's books are good, I used them to get my green card and saved $$$ by doing everything myself.

There are several ways to get a green card/work permit: getting married, having a fiancee in the US (US citizen of permanent resident) that sponsors you, having a family member sponsor you, playing the lottery, getting sponsored through work, ...

You need a lot of planning, it can take years of preparation and a bit of luck. I got married to a US citizen (that I love, not a sham), after that it took 4/5 months to get the work permit, 8 months to get the green card that I have to renew soon, and in a little bit more than a year I can be a US citizen.

So there is no easy answer to your question, you have to work on it and see if it is feasible in your situation.

[A320Dreamer]

Thanks for the answers.

Lets say I had a university degree in Aeronuatical Engineering and had done a Internship at Airbus Industries, hypotheticly speaking, would that give me a greater chance to land a job at a place such as Boeing? Nothing high-end, just enough to feed me and have a roof over my head?

Thanks alot!

[CrazyStuntPilot]

Man, plenty of people here in the USA have much better qualifications than you, you don't stand a chance with a mere Bachelor and an internship. Look for other ways.

[Reverserbucket]

If you are a JAA Flight Instructor (even with little experience) there are opportunities at JAA Approved Schools in the U.S. Normally you would be bonded for the cost of at least an FAA Commercial, Instrument and CFI certificate (which the company provides the training for) but a work visa at the very least is normally arranged. At least that gives you the chance to meet that SoCal girlie and progress onto the illusive "Green-Card".

I suspect you're not a pilot though?

[Adios]

Every year, the US awards 50,000 diversity visas to applicants from nations who are under represented in US Immigration statistics. Here is a link to the USA Green Card Lottery: Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Instructions (http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1318.html)

The application will probably open in October.

While I doubt that Sweden is under-represented among those immigrating to the US, which would mean the OP might not be eligible, other readers might want to know about the lottery.

[A320Dreamer]

You are correct Reverser. Not yet anyway...

So.. As I thought, no easy process.

But if memory serves I belive it was Delta Academy in the US that trained you to both JAA and FAA licences and gave you a "guaranteed" 1500 of instructing. Now I belive that takes more than just a students visa to work as a CFI, will that mean they will help me with the Visa?

Not sure if it was Delta, will look in to it.

EDIT: Pullled up the site, didn't say 1500hrs of instructing so I take that back.
Delta Connection J1 programme. (https://www.deltaconnectionacademy.com/programs/international.aspx)
It doesnt list what licenses you get but it lists students working in JAA companies?

[TheOne83]

I have a friend at Delta, he has a F1 visa for 3 years which will allow him to work for the school once he is done with his CFI rating.

When i did it with another school we got a J1 visa with permission to seek employment on any other school appart from the school sponsoring us, which was very good because you could relocate anywhere in the US and work for any school. I don't how hard it is to get this permission but our school fixed this since not always there where openings for CFI's when people graduated and for thoose wanting to go other places.

Lycka till!:ok:

[A320Dreamer]

Thanks for the info!

May I ask what school that was and how long ago?

Tackar! :)