nonsense,

Would you happen to know if there's any empirical evidence or legal precedent for how "(or its equivalent)" has been applied by the US in assessing visa applicants in this context ?

Could "(or its equivalent)" be used as a loophole to negate a formal college degree ?

A squared,

I was referring more to the "relationship" that now exists between the Regionals and the major airlines. A relationship that has certainly kept a lid on any evolutionary growth in wages and conditions for 2nd and 3rd tier pilots.

the lack of ability for the regionals to control their profit margins in the normal manner has led to other more "creative" schemes to increase revenue, or in many cases just to stay viable. Low paid cadet pilots being one of them.

The FAA has effectively shut the door on that form of exploitation.

As I said before, time for the architects of this fiasco to take ownership. Whether they choose to is another thing.

I guess this is further effort at "addressing it" by the US regionals. You'll probably have to Google the title of the article to see it in it's entirety:

Regional Airlines Seek Reduced Minimum Pilot-Experience Mandate - WSJ

I wondered when the airlines would take a run at this. Success might be elusive.

To everyone questioning whether pilot is a specialty occupation, will it qualify for a visa etc, a mate of mine literally just was approved a few weeks back and is the US living now, having been sponsored for an E3 as a regional airline pilot.

Yes, it is classified as a specialty occupation for the E3 visa.

Yes it can be done.

vee1,

Can you reveal which regional hired your friend ?

Where was he living when he applied and was hired ?

Was the visa obtained through the airline ?

Don't really want to give away too much to prevent an onslaught of said company, but he was living in Melbourne and had the visa obtained through the airline. Did his conversion to FAA a few months back, went back to Aus, got the E3 and just moved back again to start training.

It can quite easily be done for those who put in a bit of effort and research.

An onslaught V1?

They should be so lucky! ;)

Are the too few applicants full stop or just too few at the salary they want to pay?

vee1,

" Don't really want to give away too much to prevent an onslaught of said company..." ?

Said company would probably welcome an onslaught ! :-))

Skywest was the carrier mentioned in this original post but their website still mentions nothing about expats in the pilot quals list so I'll assume it isn't Skywest.

I'll keep an eye out for some regional admitting they're sponsoring some Aussies.

Can you reveal how much flight time the guy has...TJ ? TP ? His age ? I assume no FAA tickets held at the time he was hired by the regional ?

Any more like him that you know of going to the same airline ?

ADFUS,

"Looks like he's going to be flying an ERJ for Expressjet."

Well, if it's Expressjet they're still not admitting it. This from their careers website a few minutes ago:

"Authorization to work in the United States without sponsorship"

ExpressJet Pilot Qualifications | ExpressJet Airlines

worth a review...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwKuSMVCliQ

This is interesting (see "preferred" quals in the ad):

https://www.pilotcareercentre.com/Pi...Go%20Australia

Why would an Australian carrier prefer people with an FAA CPL or ATP and ERJ experience ? Are they operating some N-registered airplanes Down There ?

What am I missing ? ADFUS ?

I believe they have an N-registered Ejet based in the US for charter ops.

Possibly this mob
https://www.planespotters.net/airline/BizCharters

E3 Visa
 

Hi
You mentioned your friend was in a flying role on the E3. Did he have a Bachelor of Aviation? I have been in discussions with a flying school over there and they are keen to have me on board if I can source a suitable visa. I was thinking the E3, but belived I would not satisfy the need to have a degree related to flying. I have a Ba Business and Diploma of Aviation.
Thank you!

I am by no means an expert on immigration, but here's my take to this.

The requirement is "Authorization to work in the United States without sponsorship". The keyword is "sponsorship". To apply for the E3 Visa, you do not require employer sponsorship, just a offer of employment from the company, so technically it would still count. Also, for Australians & NZ Citizens there is another visa called the J1 Visa. It basically allows you to work for 12 months in the US, similar to the Working Holiday Visa we have in most commonwealth countries. Most companies terms and conditions require "Authorization to work in the United States". After you get your J1 Visa and land a job at , you can simply hop across the border to Canada or Mexico and visit a US Consulate with your job offer in hand and apply for the E3 Visa, and bypassing the two year return to home country restriction on the J1 Visa.

CanadianKiwi
 

Based on your knowledge can someone obtain J1 Visa for Flight Training in USA? or which visa will be suitable with the hopes of working for a bit after training?

The J1 visa is technically a cultural exchange visa, for au pairs and camp counsellors. However, there are agencies in Australia that will get you the Visa and let you find your own employment. If you are looking to get flight training in the US, simply get a M1 or a F1 Visa. An M1 only allows you to study and is issued for vocational schools, and an F1 is for recognized academic programs. Some flight schools and all flight universities offer a degree, qualifying for the F1 Visa. The benefit of the F1 Visa is that you can engage in up to 1 year of "Optional Practical Training", basically allowing you to work for anyone in a field related to your study in the US. There is no mandatory 2 year return back to Australia after the OPT, unlike the J1. Also, the F1 is accessible to everyone, while the J1 is limited to Aus. & NZ citizens.

I've got work lined up in the USA flying a SAR helicopter, though I'll be a green card holder (wife is American).

A buddy of mine works for the same company on an E3 visa flying a firebombing Huey and b212 and he has no degree and basically comes over for the fire season. Took him about 2 weeks to get the E3 in Melbourne, he had his FAA ATP a few years prior to applying for work if the E3.

It's all doable on an E3 but most US companies don't understand the E3 visa and as result confuse it with sponsorship. If you have an Aussie friend over there to grease the wheels and explain it, makes getting a job offer easier.

Don't expect any offers unless you have all your FAA tickets in hand and someone to explain his the E3 actually works. And it takes a while to organize going through all the TSA stuff to convert over to an FAA ATP.

havick and CanadianKiwi
 

Many thanks to all for your info. Yes you are very correct Havick. I was speaking to one of the schools over there and they know nothing about the E3 Visa. Kinda mind draining trying to explain it to them.

All in all USA will be it for me for my flight training. I think i took a safe bet after withdrawing my offer from RIMT.

Alex, the E3 won't work for you if you're only just learning to fly.