US Visa and hours building...double check
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US Visa and hours building...double check
Hi all..
I have read the very useful sticky here about this , but just to double confirm..
If I wish to go to the US and ONLY hours build, it would appear I do NOT require a visa?
I already did the visa dance last year for my IMC rating in Florida , but that visa has expired..I just want to double check that when I turn up at Orlando with flight equipment , and tell them I am on holiday and building flying hours , I will not be carted off for questioning!
cheers
Bill Padley
London
I have read the very useful sticky here about this , but just to double confirm..
If I wish to go to the US and ONLY hours build, it would appear I do NOT require a visa?
I already did the visa dance last year for my IMC rating in Florida , but that visa has expired..I just want to double check that when I turn up at Orlando with flight equipment , and tell them I am on holiday and building flying hours , I will not be carted off for questioning!
cheers
Bill Padley
London
Why do it if it's not fun?
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Bill,
You are 100% correct.
Ok, so now you know the rules. And I know the rules. And so does everyone else who's reading this. The chances of the immigration officer who sees you on the day you arrive reading PPRuNe, though, are pretty slim. There's a good chance that he'll know the rules, but he has lots of rules to know, and he's unlikely to have done anything more than skim-read a memo about the rules as they specifically relate to aviation (unlike us). Even if he does know the rules, he may well not know enough about aviation to understand the difference between what you're doing, and training. You'll probably need a BFR, and a club checkout with an instructor, right? So it counts as training, right? Well, no, that's wrong - but if that's the view that the immigration official decides to take, then you will have no opportunity to argue your case and show him why he's wrong - you'll be on the first flight back home, regardless of what the rulebook says.
The general advice is to get a Visa if you have enough time to do so, even though it's not required. If you don't have a Visa, then don't volunteer information about your flying activities to the immigration official. You're there for a holiday - just the same as someone who's going to spend a few weeks skiing is there on a holiday. However, if you are asked, then whatever else you do, don't lie - that will get you into even more trouble.
I've not heard of anyone being sent home for trying to hour-build without a Visa, so be sensible about it, and there's no reason why you should be sent home either.
FFF
----------------
You are 100% correct.
Ok, so now you know the rules. And I know the rules. And so does everyone else who's reading this. The chances of the immigration officer who sees you on the day you arrive reading PPRuNe, though, are pretty slim. There's a good chance that he'll know the rules, but he has lots of rules to know, and he's unlikely to have done anything more than skim-read a memo about the rules as they specifically relate to aviation (unlike us). Even if he does know the rules, he may well not know enough about aviation to understand the difference between what you're doing, and training. You'll probably need a BFR, and a club checkout with an instructor, right? So it counts as training, right? Well, no, that's wrong - but if that's the view that the immigration official decides to take, then you will have no opportunity to argue your case and show him why he's wrong - you'll be on the first flight back home, regardless of what the rulebook says.
The general advice is to get a Visa if you have enough time to do so, even though it's not required. If you don't have a Visa, then don't volunteer information about your flying activities to the immigration official. You're there for a holiday - just the same as someone who's going to spend a few weeks skiing is there on a holiday. However, if you are asked, then whatever else you do, don't lie - that will get you into even more trouble.
I've not heard of anyone being sent home for trying to hour-build without a Visa, so be sensible about it, and there's no reason why you should be sent home either.
FFF
----------------
Thread Starter
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FFF
many thanks for your reply..thats pretty much why I was worried :-)
After having done the Visa dance before, it was a real PITA to get sorted , and not quick by any means!
I guess as you say , Im should just be honest ...I am there for a holiday when all is said and done...just that part of that is flying around Florida .....
Anyone got any other thoughts to avoid disaster?
Bill Padley
many thanks for your reply..thats pretty much why I was worried :-)
After having done the Visa dance before, it was a real PITA to get sorted , and not quick by any means!
I guess as you say , Im should just be honest ...I am there for a holiday when all is said and done...just that part of that is flying around Florida .....
Anyone got any other thoughts to avoid disaster?
Bill Padley
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To be perfectly frank, why get a visa? If you do you're opening yourself up to all sorts of questions, and judging by their latest state of Paranoia, you're more likely to get deported.
You do not need a visa, and I wouldn't get one. You're there for a vacation, thats all. If they find your headset, then tell them you're there for a flying holiday, which you are. Chances are they won't ask anyway, and so what if they do, you're not breaking any rules, and its best to keep things simple for the INS guys
Just for everyones enjoyment:-
EA
Flight Sim enquiry raises terror alert
By Andrew Orlowski in Las Vegas
Posted: 08/01/2004 at 22:39 GMT
Get The Reg wherever you are, with The Mobile Register
A mother's enquiry about buying Microsoft Flight Simulator for her ten-year-old son prompted a night-time visit to her home from a state trooper.
Julie Olearcek, a USAF Reserve pilot made the enquiry at a Staples store in Massachusetts, home to an earlier bout of hysteria, during the Salem witch trials.
So alarmed was the Staples clerk at the prospect of the ten year old learning to fly, that he informed the police, the Greenfield Recorder reports. The authorities moved into action, leaving nothing to chance. A few days later, Olearcek was alarmed to discover a state trooper flashing a torch into to her home through a sliding glass door at 8:30 pm on a rainy night.
Olearcek is a regular Staples customer and schools her son at home. The Staples manager simply explained that staff were obeying advice. Shortly before Christmas, the FBI issued a terror alert to beware of drivers with maps, or reference books.
At one time it was rare to find US citizens, in the safest and most prosperous country in the world, jumping at their own shadows. Now we only note how high. (r)
You do not need a visa, and I wouldn't get one. You're there for a vacation, thats all. If they find your headset, then tell them you're there for a flying holiday, which you are. Chances are they won't ask anyway, and so what if they do, you're not breaking any rules, and its best to keep things simple for the INS guys
Just for everyones enjoyment:-
EA
Flight Sim enquiry raises terror alert
By Andrew Orlowski in Las Vegas
Posted: 08/01/2004 at 22:39 GMT
Get The Reg wherever you are, with The Mobile Register
A mother's enquiry about buying Microsoft Flight Simulator for her ten-year-old son prompted a night-time visit to her home from a state trooper.
Julie Olearcek, a USAF Reserve pilot made the enquiry at a Staples store in Massachusetts, home to an earlier bout of hysteria, during the Salem witch trials.
So alarmed was the Staples clerk at the prospect of the ten year old learning to fly, that he informed the police, the Greenfield Recorder reports. The authorities moved into action, leaving nothing to chance. A few days later, Olearcek was alarmed to discover a state trooper flashing a torch into to her home through a sliding glass door at 8:30 pm on a rainy night.
Olearcek is a regular Staples customer and schools her son at home. The Staples manager simply explained that staff were obeying advice. Shortly before Christmas, the FBI issued a terror alert to beware of drivers with maps, or reference books.
At one time it was rare to find US citizens, in the safest and most prosperous country in the world, jumping at their own shadows. Now we only note how high. (r)
The Original Whirly
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I wouldn't even mention hour building, or a "flying holiday". You are there on holiday, and since you have a pilot's licence, you always take your headset etc on holiday since you might get a chance to fly. In the same way as a windsurfer might take a wetsuit, or a horse rider...I don't know - boots or hat or something. After all, loads of people in the US have pilots licences. Why should that be suspicious?
Thread Starter
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Thanks for all the replys..
I think on balance, it seems straightforward that I am there on holiday , and thats the end of it....
Just wanted to make sure given the current paranoia
cheers again!
Bill Padley
London
I think on balance, it seems straightforward that I am there on holiday , and thats the end of it....
Just wanted to make sure given the current paranoia
cheers again!
Bill Padley
London
