EASA >> FAA conversion

[Minotaur12]

Good evening ladies and gentleman!
I have recently moved to the USA from England to live with my now wife, and are currently looking into converting my license over.

Under EASA, I hold:
ME CPL
ME IR
JOC
MCC
A-UPRT
as well as the dreaded GS exams

Being humble, I admit I have never worked commercially yet thanks to the Coronavirus situation stealing the career I already had lined up with an airline, so my flight hours are around 222hrs and in the training environment only.

Just wanted some general information really about what to expect?
Is it more difficult than the EASA flight tests?
Are the failure rates high for those converting?

I am aware of the 1500hr rule, but I believe there are many more opportunities at grass roots level jobs like power line checks and basic cargo ops to cut my teeth on, and I hear through my friends out here the pilot shortage is already starting to be felt again!

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated

[rudestuff]

Read part 61 for the requirements. Basically you'll need 250 hours for the CPL, so you've got 28 hours left to fly and you'll easily get everything done in that time. You can get a 61.75 certificate (piggyback/on the basis of) which will give you PPL/IR/MEP privileges. Then you'll need to fly the necessary theory, IR and CPL tests. The theory is very straightforward, you'll need about a week to study. The practical tests are harder as they include an oral exam and ground reference/performance maneuvers which you won't be familiar with. Career-wise I'd recommend getting a CFI rating and using that to build flight time. Since you have an EASA fATPL I'd recommend trying to keep your EASA licence valid pending the divorce.