Gaining an work visa States/ Australia

[SPEEDBIRD5FP]

Does anybody know what visa is required to do some instruction in the States or Australia, and the requirements for the issue of a visa

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

SPEEDBIRD5FP,

If you want to train and work as a Flight Instructor in the U.S. you will need a J-1 Visa.

The J-1 Visa will allow you to stay in the U.S. for a total of two years. When you complete all our FAA rating up to and including Flight Instructor, you will be able to Instruct for the remainder of your Visa. i.e. It takes you 6 months to get to Flight Instructor, you can instruct for 18 months. Total stay in the U.S. cannot exceed two years.

(I know I repeated myself several times in the prior paragraph, but people get confused over the rules for the J-1 Visa, so I try to state it as many ways as possible to make sure people understand it clearly.)

Check the
<a href="http://travel.state.gov/visa;exchange.html" target="_blank">TIPS FOR U.S. VISAS: Exchange Visitors</a>for further information.

Good Luck,

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

[redsnail]

For Oz, you can get a working Visa for up to 12 months after you have completed your course.
Try <a href="http://www.immi.gov.au" target="_blank">Dept of Immigration</a> for more info.
Not that hard to get I believe.

[ 28 December 2001: Message edited by: redsnail ]</p>

[fms146]

Capt Richard Gentil

Could you confirm that the J-1 Visa would be available to an FAA ATP holder already with ICAO instructor rating but wishing to come over and gain the FAA equivelent and then work in the states as an instructor.

[Britmil]

Capt. Richard J. Gentil

Richard,

Do you have an e-mail address I could contact you on regarding CFI employment advice. Fortunately, my wife is a US citizen so I don't have visa problems.

Thanks

[clear prop!!!]

‘Kind of’ on the subject…

What is the current situation regarding JAR instructors in the US?

Was it not to be the case that instruction out with JAA member States required to be under an instructor with a JAR FI rating? This would mean that all US schools would have a requirement to employ more JAR instructors. As there aren’t many of them around in the USA that ‘should’ in theory improve the entry requirements, as you would not be taking up employment which ‘could normally be carried out by a US citizen’.

So, can anyone give an update on the situation along with employment prospects and FAA requirements to be able to instruct JAR PPL students in US airspace?

Looking outside at unflyable bloody awful weather with a backlog of pissed off students, a couple of years in the sun has a certain appeal!!


<img src="cool.gif" border="0">

Ta

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

I am going to try and answer everyone at once.

With the new rules coming out regarding Flight Instructors, JAA Flight Instructors will be in demand and instead of a J-1 Visa, JAA Instructors will be able to get <a href="http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/howdoi/h1b.htm" target="_blank">H-1B Visas</a>.

I can guess the next question, and the answer is yes. Naples Air Center will be hiring and sponsoring JAA Instructors in the very near future for the H-1B Visa.

My Email address is [email protected]

Best of Luck,

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

[Meeb]

There will not be many positions for expats in the USA, because the situation that did apply to 509 schools is being applied to PPL schools, in that they must have a ratio of FAA instrutors v's JAA instrutors . The ratio I believe is 8:1.

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Meeb,

Its not so much the ratio of FAA to JAA as the NPA14 that will facilitate JAA Instructors finding work in the US under the H-1B.

Have a Great New Year,

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

[Gooneybird]

Rip Cord, you are not elligible for a j1 visa if you have more than a ppl and about 100 hours TT already. I no this 'cause I looked into it myself.
Best advice on U.S. visas is to call the embassy who will give you a premium rate number and then get the facts from the horses mouth.
As for Australia, check to see if you are elligible for permanent residency, or if you're under 29 you can apply for a two year work permit, again though check the embassy website for current info. <img src="wink.gif" border="0"> :) <img src="cool.gif" border="0"> <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

[OAT-Texas]

We were not very successful with the H-1B because being a Flight Instructor does not qualify as a specialty occupation which the INS defines as "A specialty occupation requires theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge along with at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. For example, architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, business specialties, accounting, law, theology, and the arts are specialty occupations."

The main clincher is the fact that being a flight instructor does not require a Bachelor degree (doesnt even work if the company requires their instructors to have Bachelor degrees).

Given that there is no real visa to use for the purpose of getting JAA qualified instructors to the US it will be very interesting to see how INS handels this. Capt. Gentil I would appreciate it if you could keep us informed of any possible changes.

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

OAT-Texas,

The main issue is not taking a job from a U.S. Citizen. If you have an employment position which cannot be filled by anyone already in the country, then you can go abroad to get someone. This is over simplified, just to give you an idea of what INS is looking for.

As for the Degree, you will need to get someone with a University Degree, without it you will have greater difficulty getting someone a Visa.

You will also be able to use a person's experience in the field to show them as a professional. They will need to show two years experience for every degree year, i.e. 8 years "in field" experience for a 4 year degree.

Hope this Helps,

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

[GoneWest]

I qualified for an H1B visa in 1997 as a CAA flight instructor - no degree, just 15 years aviation experience and around (then) 3,000 log book hours.

Have now upgraded to a "green card" (which is actually pink) on the basis of additional (European) qualification and 5,000 hours.