Change in US Immigration policy?

[leonmills]

I have just sent this to the London Consular, see what happens........


Hi,

I have previously been in touch about doing some flying training in the US. Despite me being cleared by the TSA and already fingerprinted the main barrier to completing a course is the necessity of finding a flight school that is part of the SEVIS system. Unfortunately most suitable schools are not as it involves a great deal of administration on their part.

I have just seen this on the State department website:


http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1268.html


"If you are going to the U.S. primarily for tourism, but want to take a short course of study of less than 18 hours per week, you may be able to do so on a visitor visa. You should inquire at the appropriate U.S. Embassy or Consulate."

I haven't seen this before.

Does this mean that now as a UK citizen with TSA clearance i can get a B2 VISA at immigration and be legally allowed to do a course of flight training as part of a vacation as long as it is less than 18 hours per week?


___snip


My interest is that despite the other FAA/UK issues etc. etc that we don't need to go into again, i really would like to do the the IR there for the experience even if it's not readilly usable here. The whole visit the embassy / prove your income / plan ahead by months is a pain hence my excitement when i saw this new bit on their website....fingers crossed.

L.

[chrisbl]

I made a similar enquiry and this is what I had back from the embassy.

"It may be possible for you to undertake the activities described without a
student (F-1 or M-1) visa, if your period of study is less than 18 hours per
week. However, flight training does have greater restrictions than regular
courses of study. If you are to receive any form of certification or award
as a result of your instruction, then you will require a visa.

The Embassy generally recommends that if you intend to undertake any form of flight training then you travel on the appropriate student visa. If you
choose not to, you should furnish evidence of your planned activities and
instruction to the officer at immigration. If they are not satisfied as to
the purpose of your travel you may be denied entry. "

CB

[leonmills]

HI Chris,

aaaaaaaaaaaaaarhhhh!

Thanks for confirming my suspicions, I will expect the same non-committal answer shortly......

Why can't they just give a straight answer? They stub out your hopes in the first paragraph with the, "if you get certification" then it's definiately a no-go and then go on to say you can chance it and tell the immigration officer what your intentions are. Yeah, right, that's a one way ticket back to blighty, Mr. immirgration wont be interested in the broad picture at all he'll just say no thanks you can't do that, next please. I just want to go to a school that can't give me an M1 because they are not part of the system and it seems that if that is your intention there is no route to follow.

L.

[Flyin'Dutch']

The whole visit the embassy / prove your income / plan ahead by months is a pain hence my excitement when i saw this new bit on their website....fingers crossed.

Not saying it is a bit of a hassle.

When I went through those hoops I pleasantly surprised how straightforward the process was.

Dunno where you want to go but there are some very good Serves approved schools about.

[2Donkeys]

I'd echo FD's sentiments. The US Embassy has become quite slick at getting the job done, and there are plenty of good SEVIS approved schools.

[leonmills]

I did some searching and all the SEVIS schools i could find either had cessnas, and i wanted a low wing aircraft, or i didn't like the look of the fleet generally (not to be sniffy or anything ). Is there is a list of SEVIS schools somewhere?


Follow up:

Found this: http://www.ice.gov/graphics/sevis/pdf/A ... chools.pdf

all SEVIS schools so that's a start, unless anyone knows of an aviation list?

L.

[Flyin'Dutch']

L,

Naples Air Center has both Cessnas and PA28s in their fleet.

They are not brand new aircraft.

Quite a few people from here have been to them for all sorts of training and well pleased with the way they were looked after etc.

[Starchild]

I'd echo FD's comments although you do need to push them around a bit to ensure you complete your PPL within your time frame.

PM me if you want further information. My avatar is one of their PA28s and have plenty of pics of the other 2.

NAC are definitely a SEVIS approved school.

[leonmills]

Hi,

Just posting this as they did reply. I know it's not strictly true as we've covered before, i.e. check ride before hiring / revalidation etc. but a much curter reply than i had 6 months ago. Just "jump through the hoops" i guess and get on with it i guess. Off to do a recce of a few schools and suitable place to stay in January anyway.

L.


_____

All students who take up flight schol training require either a J-1 or M-1 visa. Therefore, you must apply for either a J-1 or M-1 visa. please visit our website at http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/vi ... apply.html for more information on J-1 and M-1 visas.
Thank you for your email correspondence.

Consular Information Unit
U.S. Embassy London
CONS/CIU/MR

This informal method of responding enables us to respond to you within a shorter time. No record is being made of this correspondence. If you need to email us again, please return this email.

[MichaelP]

Why bother?

Flight training is generally cheaper in Canada, and in BC you get the cheapest flying training on this planet.
The quality of training is variable, but so it is in the USA as well...

Canada does not have the rigmarole associated with the USA, and actually promotes its flying training services.

About 80% of the students training in BC are from overseas. There's a lot more students flying in BC since the US began making it difficult and awkward for foreigners to train there.