Originally Posted by
rickair7777
And citizens of UAE, S. Korea, and Japan can also work as pilots here in the US, so we have a de-facto recip program.
It is actually the EU nations with which we need to tighten things up in this regard.
While it is true foreign citizens can work at US airlines as pilots, they have to get their immigration stuff squared away before they even apply for the job. In other words, unless you are in the US legally and eligible to work already for any job (with a few exceptions such as jobs requiring security clearances or Fed jobs), they can never work for a US airline. On the other hand, let's say a US citizen is trying to get a job at KAL. If employed, KAL will get a permit to work in Korea for the pilot. It comes down to 'what is the basis of your immigration/employment authorization status'.