Convictions and US entry
 

Hi there,

I was in the states at Christmas there and visited OFt at kissemee, I didnt help see a notice on the wall stating that a number of checks now have to be done on the student(I dont know if this included students from usa) but it definately said international students before commencing training in the states,(11 sept) eg background criminal history and stated that references were also needed from at least 3 people knowing You for the last 3 years or more, is this the case?, is it true?

By the way im not a criminal or anything I just have one minor conviction,

thanking you in advance

see ya

One is supposed to have an M-1 visa for flight training now.

Convictions can't be that much of a problem as my buddy has Posession of a Firearm and ABH on his record and he didn't have any problems.

As far as I am aware, people convicted of a criminal (not civil) offence may not enter the US. I assume that this is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, or any US equivalent, and probably anly applies above a certain severity of crime. I doubt it would apply to the vast majority of motoring offences!

However, if anyone knows better....? Perhaps you might ask the US Embassy visa department; I'm sure they'll know!

CaptainM,
I suggest you forget about training in the US of A, If I believe the following article the country of freedom has become a "1984 society" .... anyway we have quite an harmonised system called JAR, we build our own airliners and can manage to set our own policies..... I'm probably not talking for myself as most of the Wanabees in this forums want to fly in Europe , enjoy the article and please feel free to answer ..... SF


WASHINGTON, May 10 (AFP) - US Justice authorities Friday
announced a major overhaul in the "antiquated, paper driven" system
which tracks foreign students, in the latest of a string of reforms
in the immigration system, highlighted by the September 11 attacks.
A million foreign students will be tracked on a new web-based
system linking the Immigration and Naturalization Service with
74,000 schools and colleges.Amazement greeted revelations that two of the hijackers who sent civilian airliners on suicide missions against the World Trade
Center and the Pentagon last year were approved for student visas.
"The United States of America will not allow our welcome to be
abused by those who disguise themselves and their intentions," said
Attorney General John Ashcroft. "We will ensure that visitors observe time limits, that students study peaceably, and that our immigration laws are accorded the same
respect that we strive to extend to our guests who come to visit
this country." "For too long our student visa system has been a slow, antiquated, paper-driven reporting system incapable of ensuring that those who enter the United States as students are in fact attending our educational institutions." The new system will come into force on July 1. On March 11, there was a public outcry after approvals for
student visas were sent to a flight school in Florida, where two of
the hijackers, Mohammed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi had learned to
fly. President George W. Bush said at the time that he was stunned by
the incident, and called for wide-ranging overhauls of the
immigration system. Ashcroft emphasized that the Immigration and Naturalization
Service would be "accountable for enforcing violations" by foreign
visitors of their student status. "And the American people will gain a measure of assurance that students visiting our country are who they purport to be," he
added. "Rapid access to current, complete information on foreign
students will improve dramatically the INS' capability to enforce
immigration laws and keep track of this group of non-citizens,"
Ashcroft said. "Today we begin the process of bringing our studentvisa system into the 21st Century." The new Student Exchange and Visitor Information System has been
at study stage for a number of years, he added. In the last 10 years, the United States has accorded student visas to some 16,000 nationals of countries that the US State
Department has on its list of "terrorist" states such as Iran, Iraq,Sudan, Libya and Syria, according to data provided by Congress. One of the terrorists who took control of a hijacked plane used in four suicide attacks on the United States September 11 had
entered the country on a student visa but never showed up for his
course, according to media reports.

But do you need an M-1 visa to undergo JAR training? You're supposed to have one for taking any FAA ratings....although I have never got a visa for either JAR training for FAA training, and nobody asked...........

EA

flight training is flight training regardless of which regimen you are training under you are in the US to train therefore you will need a visa,

The M-1 visa process is not very onerous, the only people who are going to face detailed scrutiny are middle easterners looking to learn to fly, if your not middle eastern then don't worry about it.

hi guys,

cheers for the answers above,

see ya

Whilst schools will tell you that you need visas for training, they omit to tell you that they are for FAA training. There do not appear to be any relevant visas for "overseas" training because the immigration service had no idea that overses training actually takes place in the USA!

Here's how it looked to the UK schools sending students over :

Pre- 9/11 the students were told that they were going on a vacation/pleasure trip, and to say so (and nothing about training) at immigration. This did not require a visa for EU passport holders, and was the officially correct designation of non-FAA training in the US, as it had no official status of course.

Post- 9/11 the schools were arranging visas for students as a precaution.