The bottom line here is no US Airline will consider you for sponsorship since it is a lenghtly process, either via the EB category or H1-B category. If ever you do find a sponsor, you would still be shouldering the legal fees of the sponsoring company (don't ask me how I know)

The best and the cheapest way is to write your own EB2-NIW case, wait for the approval and arrive in the US as a Permanent Resident, again don't ask me how I know.

Otherwise if you are one of the lucky ones, you can join the Diversity Visa Lottery.

Final action date for EB2 moved forward considerably last night 👍
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....a147e5c069.jpg

Received an approval yesterday without an RFE: Wide-body TRI/TRE with a military background.

Other pending RFE’s usually going after the NIW prongs.

If you have an aviation bachelors, to include aviation management, it is viable. The pure exceptional abilities clients are definitely more difficult and we carefully screening those.

Good luck to all as it’s very dependent on the service center and the adjudicator working your file.

Has anyone had success with an RFE recently? I self petitioned a few months ago and they challenged all 3 prongs saying that an airline pilot is not of national importance and that a pilot shortage is not a valid argument for national importance .

As Jose Leon mentioned a while back, it really depends on the USCIS adjudicator who will review your case.
The Service Center it ends up with also is a factor in the approval.
The way you wrote your arguments and the key points and other statistics you included is also a factor.
Your qualifications also play into the final decision.

There are 2 options for you:

1. Write a new case or
2. Answer the RFE and make a strong argument with lots of news clippings and pilot shortage statistics and charts.

good luck.

Their reasoning is that the shortage is a situation designed to justify “that the labor certification will be successful”.

There are other, more reliable arguments for National Importance.

Yes, after speaking to other pilots at my Canadian airline it seems that there have been other recent denials and RFEs and many have used the same "pilot shortage" argument.

From my RFE letter, it seems that a stronger argument would be a plan to help train American pilots at the airline level to advance the national interest instead of just doing airline flying as a line pilot.

I am thinking an airline pilot who is also a TRI/TRE or maybe a pilot starting an aviation business in the US and planning to hire American pilots would be a stronger argument and more likely to make it through.

Unfortunately, I don't have training experience at the airline level so I can't use that as a valid argument in my case.

This is a successful line of argument for the NIW. Even without TRE/TRI experience, you could advance that Command experience places one in a good position to Mentor, and hence benefit flight safety.

How does one start the process to apply for a green card with the EB2 coming from Europe? Outside of aviation I have a BEng and MSc from my previous career. Would this hold some weight when I comes to making the application?

Hi everyone, I can present you my case

I have been approved NIW, having around 9000 h mostly Boeing, involved in training for about 5 years, altogether in industry for about 15 years. I also have bachellor degrees in economics and mech. engineering. From EU, I have used one of the respected law firms for application, paid a lot of money for it, but must say they were very professional and competent. I was warned that there is no guarantees, so I went into it with my mind set that all the money and time spent can be for nothing, but I was lucky at the end. So now I am waiting for my date for visa...

I am actively working now on my license conversion. If anyone is looking for a sim partner or just someone to share some experiences about conversion or job search, you can contact me.
Good luck to everyone looking for a change!

I would recommend contacting a lawyer. My lawyer has been, and still is, great for me. Immigration is a daunting process and having guidance is essential (in my opinion). There are people that self-petition and succeed, but how you present your case to the USCIS is crucial to any potential success. A lawyer could assess your case and advise you if your profile could be successful. You must satisfy three prongs for an NIW. Good luck.

To play devil’s advocate, immigration lawyers have a vested interest to paint the picture that you have a good chance of being approved. They get paid if you’re successful or not.

No improvement in the priority date for EB2 with the February Visa Bulletin.

Could someone explain what is a radio operators permit, that all the companies require for the aplication? Is there some kind of a training required for it?

First of all it’s an anachronism.

Domestic operations in the US do not require a radio operator certificate. Some other states include this as part of a pilot certificate.

The government agency issuing these permits regulates the airwaves, not aviation. This applies in both US and Canada.

Apply to the respective ministry in each country for the certificate. In this case, the FCC.

Good luck.

A quick search shows Form 605 is required. Try this link:

https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/support...e/fcc-form-605

The only training is learning where to send money to the Imperial Federal Kakistocracy and their buildings full of useless cubicle droids.

Thanks guys, I thought so that it's something burocratic.

On another topic. Would someone that jumped from Europe to US recently share some thoughts about what are the biggest differences working wise. And I mean operationally, actually flying the aircrafts, handlings at the airports etc. I am wondering what I need to prepare myself for.

I submitted my EB2 case in June 2023, received an RFE in September, submitted it in December and finally got a response a few days ago, my case was denied. My argument was pretty much the same as everyone else's.

For context, I'm a run of the mill 787 FO, 8,000 hours, I did my flight training in the US so I hold both FAA and ICAO ATP, no significant PIC time, no TRI/TRE, did some instruction at a flight school.

There's no training required, it's just a tick in the box. You want the restricted radiotelephone operator permit.
Follow the steps on this website: https://www.aviator.zone/pireps/2021...et-fcc-license

Yank here, but familiar with EU ways. First, we have a significant minority that we think speak Spanish, you might differ in that opinion.

Seniority is everything, esp new hire you don’t have any, so schedule, seat, time off, vacation will set by that fact. As more get hired below you, life improves. Airplanes fly the same, but we’re less attached to theoretical knowledge. Our tests for license conversion is off an open question bank, memorize the answers, you’re done. Commuting is common, so live where you want IF you can accept the travel to/from on your own time. We probably work harder (more days, more hours) but earn more for it. Contracts are filled with arcane rules that means one can hit the lottery for a big payoff or, not being knowledgeable, lose out.

Hey guys hope you are doing fine.
I present you my case to see if anyone could help me.
I am an A320 FO with 2000+ hours and 23 years old and I am planning to go to the US to work there as I have a lot of family there and conditions are 1000 times better than Europe.
Short story my dad is a US citizen but never did any permit or green card 🥲 and because now I am older than 21 I need to go through the green card process as a son of a US citizen older than 21 which is 5+ years.

What I was wondering is if even that I do not have 10 years of experience, because 10 years ago I was 13, if I could apply to this “Pilot VISA” because I am the son a US citizen. I know is a hard question and if anyone knows a lawyer that could help me it would be super.

Also last topic and thank you for reading, is it hard to get a sponsorship from an airline in the US? And do you know any pilot with a sponsorship that I could contact ? Because that is my other option, to convert my EASA license to ATP and try to get a sponsorship.

Thank you very much guys, safe flights.🤘🏻✈️

Hi Baker,
Sorry to say, but if you're currently outside of the US, the F1 final action date is still at January 2015. You're looking at nine years wait time. I'd still start the process, alot will happen in the meantime. The wait will always be long, you might as well start the waiting period asap.

There is no specific "pilot visa" as you say. An EB2 visa is an employment-based visa based on your exceptional abilities and experience. Having family ties to the US won't help speed things up or make you any more qualified. I have family living in the US and this was not a factor in my petition and approval.

Finally, I am not aware of any airline sponsoring work visas to the US. I know Atlas sponsored H1B before but I think that's not the case anymore. Some regionals used to (Mesa, Skywest) sponsor E3 work visas to Australians as well. I don't know if that's still the case. But those visas are also temporary work visas, not immigration visas.

Start the F1 process and wait. Apply for the DV lottery and hope. Good luck.

We just received an approval for a pilot with just widebody FO experience and an advanced degree. This was premium processing and no RFE.

With that said, the direct approval to RFE ratio is around 1:3 and pilots with stronger profiles are getting them.

Hi,


jrkekr

Hi, Skipper21, can you share what law firm you used? And what Center processed your application?

Yhank you

I used Harvey Law Group, and I must say that they were very professional and responsive. TBH I don't know which center processed the application.

Just out of idle curiosity, after people go to the considerable time/effort/expense of getting these visas, where do they find airline work in the USA...LCC, regional, legacy, ACMI, fractional ?

Hi Guys,

Does anyone have any experience as to how long embassy interview appointment takes in the ME? Date is current and has been for several months and yet still no update regarding an interview date. Any advice is much appreciated.

I'd recommend trying to find a Facebook group, or to ask on visajourney forums. The wait time for an interview after your PD is current varies wildly depending on the embassy. Good luck.

I would do flight school here in the US but university in Europe. That seems the cheapest and probably easiest way of doing it.

April 2024 Visa Bulletin. cases are moving along it seems.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....e806e25684.jpg

May 2024 Visa Bulletin has no forward movement. Same dates as the April 2024 VB.


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....1aba58bb16.jpg