Pursuing an Aviation Career in the U.S. as a European Citizen: Seeking Insights

[Vcom]

Hello, fellow forum members,

I am an aspiring European citizen eager to embark on a career in the United States
Due to specific medical considerations, my potential path toward a career in aviation appears to be primarily focused on the United States.
I am contemplating the idea of relocating to the U.S. and venturing into the aviation field. I suspect I am not alone in considering this avenue from a European perspective, and I'd love to connect with others who are exploring similar paths.

Given the nature of this forum being centered around the U.S., I come bearing some inquiries:

1. Hours Building as a CFI: In light of the 1500-hour requirement, I'm curious about the feasibility of accumulating the necessary flight hours as a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) these days
2. Prospects for a Permanent Work Permit: As a European citizen aiming to establish a long-term career in aviation within the U.S., I'm interested in understanding the likelihood of obtaining a permanent work permit. If anyone has navigated this process or has insights into the viability of such a pursuit, your guidance would be immensely valuable.
3. Recommended Schools for International Students: I'm also seeking recommendations for reputable aviation schools that cater to international students. If you're aware of any well-regarded institutions that offer comprehensive programs.

Thank you for your input in advance!

Warm regards,
Andres

 

[Chrisgoesflying]

Hi Andres. I cannot speak for 1 or 3 but can give you some guidance on 2. For school, you'll need an F1 visa. Fairly easy to obtain as long as the school is authorized to issue i-20 documents. If I was you, I would go for some sort of a combined degree e.g. BS in whatever (can be aviation related but doesn't have to be) + flight school. If the school itself is the one doing the flight training, from year 2, you're probably able to give flight instructions as part time on-campus work is permitted for F1 visa holders. Once you graduate, you can do the OPT which would allow you to work full time for one year. I'm sure you can find flying gigs, either as an instructor or other non-airline flying gig on a temporary one year basis. After OPT, things start to look a bit more complicated. There is no direct path for qualified airline pilots to obtain green card status, heck not even temporary work status. One might think that this is weird due to the "pilot shortage" but in my opinion, the pilot shortage is just some kind of made up nonsense to keep flight schools busy and operating. The two visas you could look into are H1B (temporary work permit) or EB2-NIW (green card). The pilot unions in the U.S. are vehemently against airlines using either of the two to hire foreign pilots. According to the unions, using those would displace too many U.S. citizens for a highly popular occupation. I don't disagree with them as it does seem there are plenty of U.S. pilots without a (well paid) flying job. I'm from Europe myself, but became Canadian citizen in the meantime. Canadians qualify for the U.S. TN visa which allows Canadian citizens to work and live in the U.S. in certain occupations. Airline pilot is not one of those occupations. If the "pilot shortage" really was as bad as some say it is, they would include it in the TN visa jobs as that would give them an influx of qualified pilots who had nearly the exact same education as Americans, speak the same language and come from pretty much the same culture and background (Canada isn't all that different from the U.S.). So, what is your best course of action? Get a combined degree (BS of something + your flight training, or even better get a Master's degree - that way you can also do OPT twice) and then after graduation, get a non-flying job that qualifies for H1B. Work your behind off so you can qualify for EB1, EB2 or EB3 quickly and then apply for that. Once you have one of the EB categories, you are a legal permanent resident and free to quit the job that enabled you to obtain the green card and go to the airlines. It's a bit of a long term plan, 4 years for your Bachelor, 1 year OPT, 2 years for your Master, 1 year OPT, up to 6 years on H1B and then green card so overall, 14 years.

 

[Vcom]

Hi Andres. I cannot speak for 1 or 3 but can give you some guidance on 2. For school, you'll need an F1 visa. Fairly easy to obtain as long as the school is authorized to issue i-20 documents. If I was you, I would go for some sort of a combined degree e.g. BS in whatever (can be aviation related but doesn't have to be) + flight school. If the school itself is the one doing the flight training, from year 2, you're probably able to give flight instructions as part time on-campus work is permitted for F1 visa holders. Once you graduate, you can do the OPT which would allow you to work full time for one year. I'm sure you can find flying gigs, either as an instructor or other non-airline flying gig on a temporary one year basis. After OPT, things start to look a bit more complicated. There is no direct path for qualified airline pilots to obtain green card status, heck not even temporary work status. One might think that this is weird due to the "pilot shortage" but in my opinion, the pilot shortage is just some kind of made up nonsense to keep flight schools busy and operating. The two visas you could look into are H1B (temporary work permit) or EB2-NIW (green card). The pilot unions in the U.S. are vehemently against airlines using either of the two to hire foreign pilots. According to the unions, using those would displace too many U.S. citizens for a highly popular occupation. I don't disagree with them as it does seem there are plenty of U.S. pilots without a (well paid) flying job. I'm from Europe myself, but became Canadian citizen in the meantime. Canadians qualify for the U.S. TN visa which allows Canadian citizens to work and live in the U.S. in certain occupations. Airline pilot is not one of those occupations. If the "pilot shortage" really was as bad as some say it is, they would include it in the TN visa jobs as that would give them an influx of qualified pilots who had nearly the exact same education as Americans, speak the same language and come from pretty much the same culture and background (Canada isn't all that different from the U.S.). So, what is your best course of action? Get a combined degree (BS of something + your flight training, or even better get a Master's degree - that way you can also do OPT twice) and then after graduation, get a non-flying job that qualifies for H1B. Work your behind off so you can qualify for EB1, EB2 or EB3 quickly and then apply for that. Once you have one of the EB categories, you are a legal permanent resident and free to quit the job that enabled you to obtain the green card and go to the airlines. It's a bit of a long term plan, 4 years for your Bachelor, 1 year OPT, 2 years for your Master, 1 year OPT, up to 6 years on H1B and then green card so overall, 14 years.

Hello Chrisgoesflying,

Embarking on a new Bachelor's degree doesn't appear to be the most suitable path for me at this juncture.
While I'm open to considering that avenue as a last resort, I'd prefer to explore other options first.

It's important to note that I possess a Bachelor's degree in STEM, specifically in Software Engineering.

Upon further research, I've determined that I may be eligible for an H1B or EB2-NIW visa based on my IT background.
However, I'm uncertain about the intricacies related to work permits.
My understanding was that securing sponsorship from a company for the specific visa was necessary. Could you confirm the accuracy of this?

Alternatively, is it possible to apply for such a visa without needing a sponsor? If that's the case, I assume that with my current educational degrees it might be relatively straightforward to pursue this visa, undergo flight school training, and eventually work for an airline.

Am I perhaps being overly optimistic in my assessment?

 

[Chrisgoesflying]

The only green cards or temporary work permits that don't require employer sponsorship are investment or NIW based. However, if you already have a STEM Bachelor's degree, get an H1B employer, work while getting your ratings, qualify for EB-1, 2 or 3 and go for the green card. Or, do the path I outlined above but start with the Master's degree. No need to do another Bachelor's degree.

 

[Gilbert Buettner]

As far as number 1, yes you can build time rapidly as a CFI. It is probably the most common way pilots reach the 1500-hour requirement. The flight school where I work has six primary instructors rapidly accumulating time at 70-80 hours a month.