My motivation for moving to the US is I love the great outdoors there especially in the western states. I want to go hiking, camping and skiing and need a decent job with good time off to support that.
I was looking at Las Vegas, Summerlin as a decent place to set up home. So I need to find a company that has LAS as a junior base, so I can avoid commuting and all that hassle. Is that a reasonable expectation or should I expect to have to commute at any major you join?

That's the goal. I've got enough years left to make it worthwhile.

Ecam321,

I'm not an expert on recruiting but have certainly heard of 50 y/o people getting hired at legacy/LCC carriers. I don't know what percentage of new hires that might be but it does happen.

I'd advise you to apply to everyone you might even be remotely interested in and see what your options are. I'm not sure a Part 135 operation would give you the time off/schedule flexibility you want. From what I've heard, I think those pilots work pretty hard.

As for bases, Google "airline pilot domicile map" and see who might have a KLAS base.

Good luck.

[QUOTE=bafanguy;11370175]Ecam321,

I'm not an expert on recruiting but have certainly heard of 50 y/o people getting hired at legacy/LCC carriers. I don't know what percentage of new hires that might be but it does happen.

I'd advise you to apply to everyone you might even be remotely interested in and see what your options are. I'm not sure a Part 135 operation would give you the time off/schedule flexibility you want. From what I've heard, I think those pilots work pretty hard.

As for bases, Google "airline pilot domicile map" and see who might have a KLAS base.

Thanks Bafanguy

It looks like Frontier have KLAS as a Junior base. But also there are some decent 135 operators in LAS offering a good salary with a 13/17 schedule . Your advice is heeded, I will apply everywhere and see what bites.

hi i am 39 years old military pilot from Pakistan. I have more than 17years of flying experience and 5400 flying hrs. I have flown number of multi-engine transport category aircraft. I have 3200 hrs as pilot in command . I am instructor on CN-235 and beech craft king air 350i which is equipped with pro line fusion avionics. I have flown C-130 Hercules, CN-235 Casa, Y-9 Chinese aircraft and King air 350i. I have recently done my initial pilot conversion of king air 350i in Tampa,Florida. Because of proficient performance, I was awarded pro-card on initial sim training of King air 350i. I have also obtained TSA approval from Department of defense. I don’t have ICAO ATPL yet but, i have all the military flying certificates. I have done bachelors (BS) in Aero sciences and Masters in war Studies. With this experience, Can i go for attempt to apply for green card through EB-2 NIW visa. Request your guidance.
Thanks

Ecam321
There’s a lot of guys getting hired at Legacies 50+ years old. No problem at all. I’m one of them. With your time left until retirement you should aim for a Legacy job. Spirit also has a LAS base and great quality of life. For Legacies, United just opened a base there that also went junior both seats. But you would have to fly the 737 though. From what I’m hearing the commute from LAS to LAX is also doable if you get hired somewhere else and want to stay in LAS. Best of luck.

Contact this law firm. https://dunnlaw.com/
They will give you the guidance you need. They are very upfront and won’t take your money if they think you don’t have a chance of success.

thanks for your info i will contact them

​​​​​​​I'll recommend Jose Leon at legalleon.com again. He's been absolutely great with me.

Allegiant is headquartered in Vegas and has a base there. It’s a senior base but is easy to get out of training. You’ll be stuck at the bottom though.

And I’m hearing Allegiant are in dire straights financially and looking for a merger.

thanks pilotguy for your valuable info

EB2 NIW
 

I would like to highly recommend the Jose Leon Firm as Lawyers in getting my case approved! I am a Venezuelan pilot with more than 10 K flight hours between DC9 MD90 Sabreliner and Westwind, I certify the high professional level and your work team! I highly recommend it! I presented my case on July 2022 and in January 2023 it was Approved! successes to the firm legalleon.com, do not hesitate to contact this prestigious team .

Legalleon.com

Quite amusing to see accounts with Jan 2023 join date who can't stop recommending Jose Leon Lawyer...

No wonder why. It's actually quite obvious, quote from the Leon Law website: "Leon Law firm has a 100% approval rate in applying for National Interest Waivers (NIW) for experienced pilots seeking positions as commercial airline pilots in the United States."

LOL!

scam
 

Yeah, I saw that too and was pretty sure those posts were not legit. Let's save this thread for actual experiences with green cards and NIW.

Hi Kahn,

You definitely have a competitive background for an EB2-NIW. In fact, your background fits the profile that many US airlines look for. With that said, the standard for the National Interest Waiver looks for exceptional ability in your country of origin. ​​​​​​Exceptional ability is defined as a person with “a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered” in their particular profession or field of expertise. The key is to show that you are “no ordinary pilot”. After 17 years of aviation military service in Pakistan, as compared to other Pakistani pilots, you should be able to obtain substantial evidence to substantiate your petition.

Good luck with your application.

Jose Leon

What exactly is the scam? I DM'd you my phone and will be happy to talk, facetime, Zoom, or meet in person in my office. You may also search my name in the Florida BAR website.

Hi everyone, British A320 FO here, 2500hrs, 27yo. No green card etc and UK CAA licence - but very keen to explore options in the states. Would I have a shot at a legacy at my age/experience or would I need to be looking at a regional first, or similar? If i did move out, would the career progress be fairly fast due to retirements/expansion? And how are pilots like me received/perceived in the states? (ie, got an A320 job straight out of integrated ATPL training, didn't do the hour building/PIC route that is common in the states as it's not how it's done over here?)

Thanks!

Busdriver01,

How would you get the legal ability to live/work in the USA ? That's the critical factor; everything else is just details. I haven't heard of a visa arrangement (like the Aussie E3) that would help you as a Brit but I'm not a subject matter expert by any measure.

Your brief statement of qualifications would seem to indicate you're OK for regionals and maybe even an LCC (heck, maybe even a legacy). Getting an FAA license is an expensive process...unless you can get a regional to pay for it.

The current hiring/upgrade frenzy will certainly come to a halt for any number of reasons so don't count on it as a permanent situation...but that's another subject.

Since contacting airline HR people is so easy these days, I'd email every single one of the regionals and LCCs (contact Spirit for sure) to explain your situation. See what they say or suggest. Or if you're a glutton for punishment, fill out apps to all of them...and email their HR people.

In any event, good luck and let us know what you discover.

To my knowledge there is no sponsorship available by any US airline, no matter how desperate or short of pilots they currently are or if its a bottom end regional or high end major. Your experience would of course be recognised but only with the right to work. Without sponsorship or qualifying for a E3 the options are extremely limited, your then down to qualifying only by family/marriage. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but spending hours applying for airlines in the US will ultimately be a waste of time as you will constantly have to answer the same question on the application and even be asked again by the HR. Do you have legal authorization to work in the US without sponsorship?

If the answer to that question is a no, then it is no bueno I am afraid. Go and set the tinder passport to Miami….