Canadians @ US Regionals
 

Bits and pieces of info are starting to appear indicating US regionals are headhunting Canadian pilots via H1B visas. So, perhaps a thread in this forum would be a place to collect input from Canadians who've made contact with a US regional regarding visa assistance and/or employment...and inform others.

So far, I see Air Wisconsin and Commutair mentioned and wonder what others might be looking at this source of pilots.

Here's the data for Air Wisconsin. The LCAs for H1B visas don't give a country of origin for the visa recipient the way it does for Aussies so it's hard to say for sure the H1Bs are Canadians but AW is getting some pilots on H1Bs:

Air Wisconsin, Jobs & Salary for Foreign Workers | myvisajobs.com

License process here although if Aussies can start class with only a valid CASA license and emerge with an FAA ATP at the end of new hire school, I'm not sure why Canadians couldn't also do that:

https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/...AC_61-135A.pdf

Just for context, got this from an inquiry to the FAA concerning how many Canadians had gotten FAA tickets via the Advisory Circular process...or to be more accurate, how many TCCA licenses had been used to get FAA licenses (wouldn't have to have been only natural-born Canadians doing this, I suppose ?):

The FAA Airman Certification Branch reports that it has processed the following certificates (TCCA to FAA) since AC 61-135 was published December 5, 2006:



1059 ATP

752 Commercial

232 Private



Sincerely,

[I removed the gentleman's name]

Aviation Safety Inspector

Airman Certification and Training Branch AFS-810

Federal Aviation Administration HQ

800 Independence Avenue

Washington, DC 20591

[email protected]

Office: 202-267-XXXX

Canucks
 

All the Canadians I have met here in the USA including myself had a green card , zero were allowed in on a visa unless a lottery win .
Aussie’s different story !

510,

Not doubting that at all. Someone sent me this link which got me wondering about the whole issue which is why I looked for info from the FAA about how many Canadians had done the license conversion:

Some U.S. regional airlines are now sponsoring Canadians for the H1B Vis - AVCANADA

Hey Bafanguy

I'm one of those 1059. My (Canadian) company had a US division so they had a few of us convert our licenses so we could fly those N-reg a/c in the US as well. There are probably a bunch of us in that boat. Haven't met a single Canadian flying for a US company that does not have a green card, either by dual citizenship or marriage...

Pre 9/11, there were a few companies (Piedmont I think) who would sponsor the occasional Canadian UND graduate, but of course that ended when the twin towers went down - until now, perhaps!

survey,

Just using Air Wisconsin as an example because the original post in the AvCanada thread I posted mentioned them, it's hard to tell how many Canadians AW hired by looking at the link to the visa website showing the company's expat hiring history. Some of that may be Aussies.

But, the email from AW to the guy seemed to indicate they were not unequivocally opposed to taking Canadians. So far, it's hard to tell what other US regionals are taking them (non-green card, that is) on a visa of some sort.

I'd be curious to know how many Americans availed themselves of the process to get a TCCA license based on an FAA ticket. I'll guess a smaller number than TCCA-FAA...just a guess.

Lots of variations on a theme in all this stuff.

So this idea of Canadians coming to fly at US regionals didn't get much traction ? Since license conversion doesn't appear to be much of an obstacle, I'll guess the visa hurdle was the problem ?

Getting an FAA certificate is simple enough. Getting employed by a US carrier is a different story. There are too many unemployed or under-employed US pilots. The US regionals claim a shortage of pilots, but what they actually have is a shortage of qualified pilots willing to work for minimum wage. (I've heard of guys opting to fly a PC-12 over a CRJ because the money was so much better.) Since the H1B visa process costs the employer money (as far as I know), I would be interested to find out if a US regional is willing to go that route rather than offer more money to a qualified American pilot. I have my doubts, because even if the airline was willing, it is very unlikely that USCIS will approve the visa.

The Aussie thing (for those that are wondering) is due to a Bush (the son) Administration era work-exchange set-up, where a certain number of pilots from each country can get work authorization to go to the other country per year. That has apparently been gaining some traction recently with US regionals.

If any foreign pilots (of whatever nationality and whatever experience level) have gotten hired by any US airline or Part 135 charter operator, please post here - I would love to be proved wrong.

gambit,

The visa issue seems to be the major hurdle. While it's difficult to get an accurate Big Picture of US regional hiring because there's no central info clearinghouse, I get the impression they're filling classes...or filling enough of them to keep the wheels turning.

I haven't heard of any outfits taking non-Aussie foreign pilots (except green card holders and they don't fall in this category). Like you, I'd be interested to hear of any specific cases.

The regional pay has increased to a reasonable level. The days of the $19K/year regional abuse are history.

Lots of chatter on this subject. First, Pilots were not included in the occupations under NAFTA and there are no changes under NAFTA 2
The H1-B Visa is now issued in smaller amounts and you have to have your application in on the deadline and I think its like March 1 and only a small
percentage get accepted.

The other alternative is to instruct at a University where your occupation becomes "teacher".

US pilots however can work in Canada easily and while Canada treats them more fairly
the US does not reciprocate.
That may change if they learn about the pilot shortage caused by Canada stealing their airline pilots
and wanting to live in a Trump free land.

Ramjet,

Is any data available about how many US pilots have gone to Canada to fly (independent of those with family ties or dual citizenship) ?

OK, I'll answer the question. First, there are a significant number of Australian Pilots flying on E3 visas in the USA. As I understand it they are employed as "Airline Pilots" and one school claims to have an Instructor from Australia on an E3 Visa. I will believe that when I hear from him on a PM... If you are that one Australian instructor or know of him, please PM me.

Now, I'm not aware of the gambitpro statement that "a certain number of pilots from each country can get work authorization"
This appears to be a misunderstanding of the US AUS Free Trade Agreement.

Can anyone amplify on that ?

PM's appreciated

Most US pilots do not even consider Canada even though there are virtually no restrictions on them working in Canada
while Canadian Pilots find it next to impossible to work in the USA. When Trump finds out he might just change that.
Now, don't pass that on to Fox news.

Perhaps an E3 holder will come along and comment but my impression is that the E3 is not specifically/only for pilots but Aussies in general.

You're likely right about few Americans heading north to fly. I don't recall hearing anyone admit to exploring that option.

There was a brief mention of the reverse:

http://www.avcanada.ca/forums2/viewt...?f=54&t=122708

Yes, it would be a misunderstanding of AUSFTA.

The E-3 visa had its genesis in the negotiations for AUSFTA, but it is not, as many seem to think it is, a part of the Agreement.

So I guess the phenomenon of Canadians coming to US regionals was just a flash in the pan ? Not much of it happened ?

The Canadians I know at US airlines all have green cards through marriage or family. That's likely how the rumors begin though.

fs,

Probably so but Air Wisconsin expressed some interest here. It's the only place I've seen any documentation of it though:

Some U.S. regional airlines are now sponsoring Canadians for the H1B Vis - AVCANADA

Just to bump this up for current status...did many Canadians come south to US regionals on a visa ? The topic got some play for a bit on AVCANADA then went dead.

I assume there's been no mass southward migration ?