Career advice needed. Moving from Europe to the US

Der rote Baron

Der rote Baron

Well-Known Member
How to start..... I'm currently flying for an european LCC, A320 type rated, 5000+ hours, 1500 hours PIC. Never thought about moving to the US and then I meet this girl, s**t happens ;) So we'll get married in a couple of months and I'll move to Dallas.

The US consulate told me, that it could take between 1-2 years to get the green card. Is it possible to convert my EASA ATPL to FAA with an temporary work permit? The other question is would any airline hire a pilot with an temp. work permit?

The other question is where should I apply, regional, lcc or major?

Feedback is highly appreciated.
 
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I have no idea about the first question. I would presume a regional/LCC would work with you to get you a work permit. With your background you could easily get on with a LCC like Spirit/Frontier, or you could get on with a regional to stay current and try to get on with a major. One of my first officers at my regional was a french guy who had just retired from the French Air Force. He moved his family to Houston, got current at my regional, and was at United after a year.
 
One to two years?? It only took three months from putting the green card papers in the post to having the green card in hand for my wife.
 
Zondaracer said:
One to two years?? It only took three months from putting the green card papers in the post to having the green card in hand for my wife.
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It took a little bit more then 4 months to get the fiancé visa ..... Between 1 - 2 years was the answer in FRA
 
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We had several guys from South Anerican countries and a couple from European countries in my new hire class at Endeavor, so it can be done. If you can dig up the pilot recruiting phone numbers for some of the regional airlines out here I'm sure they can find out some info for you since everyone is hurting for pilots right now.
 
Der rote Baron said:
How to start..... I'm currently flying for an european LCC, A320 type rated, 5000+ hours, 1500 hours PIC. Never thought about moving to the US and then I meet this girl, s**t happens ;) So we'll get married in a couple of months and I'll move to Dallas.

The US consulate told me, that it could take between 1-2 years to get the green card. Is it possible to convert my EASA ATPL to FAA with an temporary work permit? The other question is would any airline hire a pilot with an temp. work permit?

The other question is where should I apply, regional, lcc or major?

Feedback is highly appreciated.
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I'm assuming your girl is a US Citizen? If so and you are getting married in the US, then you will need to enter the US on a K-1 Fiance Visa. You have 90 days to get married on that visa. While technically you are able to apply for a work permit during that time period, the US Immigration service often takes that long to issue the Employment Authorization Document. Once you are married, you are eligible to apply for adjustment of status. Along with that application you will have to file for a new work permit on the basis of your adjustment of status application. That will also take around 90 days to show up.

To answer your first question, yes you can do flight training during your K-1 and "Adjustment of Status" period, however you will need to go through the TSA clearance process as you will be a non-citizen. To answer your second question, it is illegal for a US employer to discriminate against anyone who has the legal right to work in the US, so provided the employer follows the law, you're good.

You will not be able to apply for any US airline until you get the Employment Authorization Document in hand, or a stamp in your passport allowing you to work. After that, I would apply to everyone. The regionals will pick you up a few hours after you file an application. You can fly for one of them while waiting for a call from the LCCs or majors.

Good luck!
 
If you plan to come to the US to get married, you'll need the K-1 Fiance Visa. Then once you're in the US and married you can apply for the more long-term residence/work visa. That process can take up to two years starting with the K-1 Fiance visa.

However, it might be much faster if you get married in your current country of residence and apply through the US Embassy in your country. I've heard that if you do it this way it can be less that three months total. I went through the long and slow process with my wife about ten years ago or so. It's not fun. Do some research on the Embassy option first before filing any paperwork.

One reason it can be much faster at the Embassy is that they have a Homeland Security desk there. So all your paperwork can be filed in one building in person. But if you're doing it all stateside, you'll have to file with Homeland Security and the State Department separately (not in the same building), which could increase your wait time significantly.
 
Raskolnikov said:
If you plan to come to the US to get married, you'll need the K-1 Fiance Visa. Then once you're in the US and married you can apply for the more long-term residence/work visa. That process can take up to two years starting with the K-1 Fiance visa.

However, it might be much faster if you get married in your current country of residence and apply through the US Embassy in your country. I've heard that if you do it this way it can be less that three months total. I went through the long and slow process with my wife about ten years ago or so. It's not fun. Do some research on the Embassy option first before filing any paperwork.

One reason it can be much faster at the Embassy is that they have a Homeland Security desk there. So all your paperwork can be filed in one building in person. But if you're doing it all stateside, you'll have to file with Homeland Security and the State Department separately (not in the same building), which could increase your wait time significantly.
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If he gets married in his country he will be doing the CR-1 visa which is about a year in process (Just did this last year myself, slightly under a year for us, but they were still expediting Philippines at the time).

Only way they can do a Direct Consular Filing is if:

1. US Citizen Spouse resides with him out of the US (there's a specified time period prior to filing and must remain living outside US throughout the process)
2. The US Embassy in the country she files in has a DCF section, many do not.

If the goal is to get to the US faster, then file the K-1. The total costs are more as the AOS fees are higher than CR-1 but K-1 has been running ~6 months from filing to embassy interview. But you'll have to wait for the permission to work.

CR-1 visa is authorized to work day one via the visa Stamp on arrival (SS cards take about 2 weeks, actual GC took 45 days)

Lots of timelines searchable by country and a bunch of knowledgeable folks over at http://www.visajourney.com

P.S. Just in case you do get married abroad, ignore the K-3 visa. Its useless at this point and a waste of filing fees. It was applicable when CR-1 / R-1's were taking over a year, but currently they merge them at the Service Center or Embassy (depending on when they join up), and the K-3 gets tossed in favor of the CR-1 / R-1.

The whole process is fairly easy and straightforward, if you follow the instructions its smooth and you won't get an RFE. Don't bother getting a lawyer or using a service as you still have to do all the legwork getting the paperwork, Birth Certs, Marriage or former divorce decrees, etc...
 
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Getting married in Germany isn't an option because of future Mrs. RedBaron. No need to start a fight on this subject with her ;) . I received the K-1 Fiance Visa last week and talked today to the CP. Agreed to work for another 3 weeks and then I'm free.
 
Der rote Baron said:
Getting married in Germany isn't an option because of future Mrs. RedBaron. No need to start a fight on this subject with her ;) . I received the K-1 Fiance Visa last week and talked today to the CP. Agreed to work for another 3 weeks and then I'm free.
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Congrats!

We are all waiting on the wedding invitations. If it was only closer to October, you could have the weeding at NJC '16 :)
 
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