Need Help: US immigration issues

[ArcherII]

Hi,

I've been trying to ask MANY people about this, but couldn't get good answers yet.

I'll try asking in pprune

Here's my story, short and quick.

I'm a third year Aerospace Engineering student studying in the US under an F-1 Academic student visa.

I'll be graduating in about a year, in 2004. But I don't want to be an engineer, as I LOVE flying.

I'm a couple of hours away from getting my FAA PPL, and almost done with FAA Instrument ground school too.

I would like to work in the US eventually as a corporate pilot flying business jets. I dont' mind working for charter and flight instructing though. I love flying small airplanes...light twins and the like.

My biggest problem. US immigration. How does an Italian citizen (like myself) currently on an F-1 student visa get to work legally as a professional pilot in the US?

H1B visa? How would I apply for employment-based permanent residency?

Any info at all would be GREATLY appreciated.

Archer

[tessamurray]

Hi Archer,

I'm currently working in the US under a J1 visa. It's my understanding that to change your visa status you need to have a sponsor (i.e. an employer) that supports your application. So first you get yourself a job and then your new employer asks the INS to change your visa status. And they have to show that you are the best qualified person for the job and you are not taking a job away from an American citizen. I've been told that this process doesn't take too long and is a LOT shorter than applying for your first visa. Hope this helps in some way...

tess.

[texan flyer]

where are you studying AE ?
has that career satisfied your expectations ? Are you happy with what you´ve learned so far? Would you recommend that university and that career?
I am interested in doing that so I ´d really appreciate your thoughts about it...

cheers,
TF

[weasil]

One option I know of is to transfer your F-1 visa to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's East Bay Campus in Oakland california, take classes there week nights and then you can work as a flight instructor at some of the flight schools in the area.

I'm sure other universitys have similar agreements. The F-1 allows people to work in a field related to their degree, to gain valuable experience.

[ECAM This]

And they have to show that you are the best qualified person for the job and you are not taking a job away from an American citizen....
------------------------------------------------------------------------


Good luck! With the number of unemployed, forloughed or otherwise out of work experienced pilots in the USA, you'll never convince INS that you are the MOST qualified AND that you're not taking a job from a former jet pilot from US Air, United, American, TWA, Midway, Northwest, and the list goes on, and on, and on...

[mjbow2]

tessa is right.

I beleive the process is through the department of labour. the INS will refer to the DoL who recommends what professions etc are eligable for the issuance of work visas.

From my experience most airlines wont want to deal with the black hole called the INS. besides......see above!

Get married!

[alexb757]

Don't want to sound too negative but a previous poster is quite right. There are approx. 9000 US pilots pounding the streets right now, most of them highly qualified & experienced (like myself on my 7th month of unemployment!), most with multiple type ratings, some with other ICAO licenses. There is absolutely NO way anyone is going to convince the INS that a PPL is the "best qualified" & will not be taking a job from a US citizen. Let's face reality, this current downturn is the worse for 30 years - it's all about timing.
You might want to try another country like EU or the ME where they are actually hiring.
Your other option is to go for those green card lotteries advertised in USA Today & other media from time to time.

Best of luck, mate.

[flycat]

Hi,
I was able to work in the US under the F1 visa, from Embry-Riddle in Oakland, CA. There is only one little thing to keep in mind. As a F1 visa student, you need to be enrolled in a University full time, to be able to work, you must get approaval from the university to work outside the campus or flight schools associated with the university, and while you are a full time student, you are only allowed to work 20 hours a week (most schools don't care and will let you work full time). Once you graduate, INS will issue a temporary work permit for one year. After the year is over, Good bye work permit. It is very ard to get any other job as a pilot with that kind of visa. Flight instruction is your only option.
The other way to fly and work is a J1, issue by a school approved by INS, but you must apply for the visa before you get your commercial license, otherwise, INS considers that you have already obtain you professional training and won't issue it, not even to continue training for your CFI. The J1 is good for 24 month, doesn't matter how long your training is, at the end of 24 month, good bye visa.
I recomend the F1 with Embry -Riddle, as you use the extended campus, you only need to enroll in 2 classes per semester, and you can manage to extend your stay in the US for almost 4 to 5 years. You can also take a semester off every 4.
Good Luck with your flying dream, training is easy, but the job market is not. Too many of us have been furloughed and looking for jobs.

[MAJIC9]

This is the usual path a lot of folks take:

F1-->OPT*-->H1B-->GC*

*OPT = Optional Practical Traning (one year, and you're still on F-1 at that time). You can work anywhere, as long as it's within the field of study.

*GC = green card (permanent residency)

You will need an employer who wants to sponsor you throughout this process. If you're planning on being a pilot.. as mentioned, you can pretty much forget about it...

H1B and GC steps require quite a bit of paperwork, including approvals from DoL (dept. of labor) and they take quite a bit of time (esp. the GC... avg. 2 years or more). It's best to have a lawyer do all this for you, but someone's gotta pay for it :) If you do not have a sponsor (employer) you can't apply by yourself.

[LearX]

Find your answers at :-

http://www.immigration.gov/

My lawyer tells me

" The easiest way is to marry a US Citizen ( stay with him/her for at least 2 years ) and you will get your greencard. "

[maxy101]

I was under the impression that to fly for a US airline after 911, that you had to be a US citizen and not only a green card holder? Can anybody confirm this?

[ECAM This]

The Green card will work UNLESS the airline has a DOD contract. The DOD recently changed their rules to require US citizens ONLY fly the aircraft used for DOD contract work.

Otherwise, the green card is enough to satisfy most airlines (I know several green card airplane drivers in the US)