Student Visas For US Instruction/ Hour-Building

[Tosh McCaber]

From the Beeb this morning- From today, the US government will require any students intending to carry out studies in the States to have to obtain a Student Visa prior to them travelling there.

Apparently, this is a belated response to the fact that the Sept 11 bombers caried out their flight training in the States for a year, with no checks having been carried out.

[FlyingForFun]

I thought this was always the case?

As for hour building, though, this doesn't count as studying. All anyone needs to know is that you're a private pilot, and you're visiting on a "flying holiday", much the same way that a skier would visit on a skiing holiday.

But as far as I was aware, if you're doing any officially recognised course (which would include PPL, IR, etc...) you've always needed a visa?

FFF
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[xabi200]

hey guys,

I've got a friend who went overthere on a visa waiver(3 month tourist visa), he had a JAA ME/IR frozen ATPL, he was able to pass his FAA CPL and all.

cheers

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Tosh McCaber,

Flight Training has always required a Visa in order to enter the U.S. Since Sept. 11th, they are enforcing the requirement.

Hour building is not a training course. It is pleasure flying. With the current political climate in the U.S. it would be best to have a Visa for hour building, but it is not required. Without a Visa you could end up in front of an immigration officer that knows nothing about aviation, trying to explain the differences between training and hour building.

Good Luck,

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

[regional guy]

Hi,

I just heard about this 'rule-change' on the news this morning. I was under the impression that you've always needed the visa before you started training. At least regarding flight training.

[knobbygb]

I heard (on Pprune somewhere) that visa's were previously NOT required for 'part time' training courses, which were courses of either less than a certain number of hours per week (20 I think) OR courses with a total duration less than a certain period (6 weeks possibly). Therefore, surely, this would have exemted most PPL courses on both counts - not sure about more advanced stuff though. Was I imagining this or was I ill-informed?

With the new rules in mind, what are the pitfalls with getting a visa? Would everyone applying for a visa for PPL training get one (assuming nothing dodgy in their background of course)? Are you likely to be quizzed for hours on arrival in the States and treated like a possible terrorist?
Must admit I'd be tempted to just get a visa-waiver anyway. I've been to Florida several times in the past without being suspected of anything - how would they know this trip was any different? Would the schools enforece the visa requirement? I assume the reputable ones might.

[regional guy]

knobbygb,

No, you were not ill-informed. I think you can still, legally, come to the states and go through flight training, as long as you do less than 20 hours a week, and it's for a short period of time. In this case, all you need is a I-94W or a tourist visa, depending on nationality.
I would try and get over here on some sort of a student-visa if I were you. Unless you are doing a very short course, an M-1 or J-1 would work good.

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

knobbygb,

The cutoff is 18 hours per week. That is total training hours, NOT flying hours. There is no provision for short lengths of stay in the country.

I had a student try to show up unannounced at our school on the 24th of January. He had seen our ad in one of the UK Aviation magazines and with the ad tried to enter the country on a visa waiver. The reason I know this is the Immigration Officer called me with the gentleman in front of him. I posted a thread about this incident on PPRuNe called Visas Question Answered (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4612). To this day the gentleman has not arrived at my school.

The Visa Procedure is quite simple. The school you are planning on attending sends you the I-20 Visa Application. You take the form to the U.S. Embassy in your country. They review your paperwork and if you do not have, as you put it, a "Dodgy Background" you should not have any trouble. The goal of the Embassy is to verify you are who you say you are and that you have the means to complete your planned training in the U.S.

Happy Flying,

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