Any Regionals Sponsoring Foreign Pilots?
 

Hi all,

I realize this post might come with a bit of backlash, but here it goes:

To introduce myself: I'm a Canadian citizen, presently flying a B1900D as FO throughout the arctic, with the expectation of reaching the ATP requirements within the next year. Although I completed my degree through a US university, and my extended family owns a number properties in the US, I've found no other way to allow me to gain citizenships/green card.

With the desperate state of the regionals these days, is there any chance of them sponsoring a foreign pilot towards a green card? Might they do that in the future?

Thank you for your time!

Nope. Republic tried but there is not a visa category that allows sponsorship of airline pilots.

Might get lucky at Skywest ...

Why is that?

No offense, but the last thing we need is an influx of foreign labor to perpetuate the regionals. I have no problem with foreigners who already have the right to work to come fly here, but for the airlines to sponsor foreigners would not be a move in the right direction for the current workforce.

find yourself an american spouse. Problem solved.

A myth that has been debunked...

What is wrong with working in Canada?

There is a visa program that allows pilots from other nations to work in America. Although I may not speak for all Americans I personally welcome you to America. We should welcome all legal, skilled, tax paying individuals that wish to be a part of our nations economy instead of an illegal drain on our resources.

People will mention Skywest because they have been the most active in recruiting foreign nationals. The thread link posted above will point you in the right direction for obtaining the appropriate visa. There are other airline that I am sure will accommodate you will the proper paperwork.

Please excuse our xenophobia with foreign pilots. The pilots in America have waited so long to to finally have an opportunity to achieve real gains in this profession that the prospect of a large influx of cheap foreign labor scares and angers us. However we should be open to the inclusion of a few Canadians, Aussies, Brits, South Africans or whoever wishes to join our aviation community. Even Kiwis I suppose.

I wish I could provide more assistance. This country needs skilled labor. Best of luck

I know lots of foreign pilots at Skywest, but all have a green card or acquired US citizenship, which was not sponsored by Skywest.

There is a visa system for foreigners to work here, such as H-1B, E-3, etc, but as far as I know, foreigners are not eligible.

I am all for foreign pilots coming here, as long as there is some sort of reciprocity.

Like flying a heavy for 30k a year!

You could enlist in the military and gain citizenship at the end. Will take a few years. How badly do you want to work here?

Who else will get visas to come to the United States to work if not foreigners?
The E-3 visa is real, Australians can come and work here using it. I know one Australian guy working at OO with that visa (can be renewed easily every 2 years). H1-B is restricted in the amount of visas issued per year, most of those go to farm workers and such. E-3s have no limit, but it is not like there is an active recruitment for Australian pilots out there.

Lol oops I should have proof read... I meant to say "pilots are not eligible."

I had heard Skywest was recruiting Australians with E3s but I had not seen any proof.

I am Canadian but my family is in the US, family is how I got the "right to work." I am currently a king air captain and just waiting for my ATPL license verification to come in so I can join a regional offering an ATP-CTP program. Unfortunately, after inquiring about converting my Canadian ATPL conversion under the advisory circular between the two nations, the FAA has stated I still need to take the program to write the ACM(Canadian Conversion ATPL:60 questions).

I was wondering if people can suggest any tips prior to joining a part 121 airline which would help me prepare for their training program. I am using Gleim, an online program. I also bought a book called "Everything Explained for the Professional Pilot"

1st Justin Bieber, now you? Y'all up north need to be able to whistle Dixie, drink moonshine and 2 step. After that, welcome!

At least he brings a skill with him, not like Bieber who has nothing to offer.

You can't enlist in the military unless you have a green card or are a US citizen.

You can join the French Foreign Legion and escape on a ship to LA, climb your way up the fight club ladder and marry a rich chick, who's betting against you...

Everything Explained book is great. If you're really concerned, sitting down with an experienced CFII might be worth the time and money.

I think Mesa does. At least it sounds like it over the radio.

This! So true. I'll throw GoJet out there too. Been hearing a lot of heavy accents coming out of STL the last few months.

That doesn't mean the airline is sponsoring the work visa.

Gojet does not. Because i personally know 3 foreigners who dont even have a green card, only VISA that work at skywest, and they were turned down by Gojet.

There are currently 3-4 pilots that i know personally at Skywest, and 2 at Great lakes that have no green card, they just have VISAs. And many more applying.

I don't know of any foreign pilots at Mesa, although, it would not surprise me in the slightest to learn that they are working hard to find a way.

Technically US employers are only allowed to ask an applicant if they have the legal right to work in the US which they do if they are holders of the proper Visa and an Employment Authorization Document.

To the OP, there are very limited means for Canadians to work in the US.

The TN Visa under NAFTA which permits certain qualified professions to obtain a time limited Visa to work only in that profession does not apply to pilots (this is for both Canadians trying to work in the US and Americans trying to work in Canada - perhaps something to consider if the Donald becomes the President)

The other option is if your spouse gets an inter-company transfer visa L1 - the L2 visa can eventually provide a right to work in the US for the same validity period of your spouses L1 visa.

This might sound a bit uncomfortable, but you can get sponsor by a church, i.e, mormons, catholic, etc...and be able to be here, I know a few guys that did that and they are now in Spirit... Also, with the heavy traffic of non citizens trying to get into the profession and TSA doing the SF 86, it takes a while, and now add the Egypt accident is gonna be tough to get a job, but hey !!!welcome to the US in advance !!!! Á votre Santé !!!!:-)


Auto spell is my friend......!

Here is my take on the foreign visas, how easy is it for an American to go and fly for a Canadian company ??? Or a American to fly in Europe? They are good enough to train here but we are not good enough to fly there! Sorry things suck in your country at this time but I did not see allot of foreign companies holding there doors open to us after the US aviation labor market imploded. We are finally starting to get some of what was taken from us & do not really need cheap foreign labor to keep the oh so stagnant market that way!

Why just these specific countries?

Hi everyone, new guy here. I'm a dual citizen currently flying in Europe.
How is that relevant? By training european pilots in the US you're actually taking flight instructor jobs away from europeans, and you want them to let you fly in europe in return? I don't get it
And actually FedEx has a few bases in europe with american planes and pilots flying between european countries without even coming back to the US every once in a while. I haven't heard of any european airline being allowed to do the same in the US

Other than that I agree with you, no need for cheep foreign labor screwing the US market. The job market in europe is completely messed up (if you can still call it a job market as a lot of pilots are actually paying the companies to fly the airplanes). If you let them in they'll come fly your airplanes for free

In majority of cases the overseas market allows foreign pilots to be employed on an "on needed" basis if they have a shortage of qualified applicants. So tons of US pilots flying on long term contracts in Asia, Africa and the Middle-East. Obviously you are a contractor and will be replaced as soon as you are no longer needed and locals will almost always be favored. You have no real seniority or job protection and you are only as good as your last flight. As long as you remember that you should be fine. There are many expats who have made a good living flying contract overseas with all its ups and downs.

First, you can not compare the level of training between European and us pilots.

And if you work in Europe you are also protected by the local social laws

Why not?

(Disclaimer: I have both FAA and EASA certificates/licenses)

Yeah I'd also like to see where you're going with that
Which social laws? The irish one that says I can be an independent contractor with no minimum guarantee, no health or retirement plan while having a contract with an airline that says I am only allowed to fly for them even if they don't call me for 3 months? Or the Lithuanian law that says I can pay 50k to an airline for the privilege of flying 500hrs in their planes with no salary and without even being considered as en employee?

F$%K YA! LET'S BUILD A WALL TO KEEP THOSE DAMN FOREIGN PILOTS OUT!

(disclaimer: I'm Canadian with a legal US Visa)

Things don't suck in Canada for pilot jobs at the moment by any means. Someone would get on a jet with lower hours in US than in Canada and the pay is (finally) higher at US regionals with the hiring bonuses, but the Canadian regionals are hiring a significant number of pilots in the 2000 hour range.

Also, the visa process is roughly equivalent. It is easier for a US ATP to obtain a Canadian ATPL than the reverse. Also, I believe, but am not sure, it is easier to obtain Canadian permanent resident status than it is to obtain a Green Card - shorter time period and a few less restrictions. But, to get an immediate visa to work at an airline is just as difficult.

It's all fair to have opinions on foreign affairs, but perhaps a little more research would be in order before making make statements about 'cheap foreign labor' or the job market in other countries. In the words of the current president "Ignorance is not a virtue. It's not cool to not know what you're talking about."

Further thoughts to the OP, I've been looking at both Canadian and US regional jobs and while both have pros and cons, I'm leaning towards staying in Canada and commuting from the US. Although with the exchange rate it is less pay and you'll likely be flying a Q400 instead of a Jet, the schedule and lifestyle seems to be markedly better for the first while. Most US regional require a relatively long period on reserve whereas only Jazz and Porter have any type of reserve of new hires and it's relatively short.

Also, most US regionals have multiple bases that you are assigned based on seniority whereas in Canada, while you may have to move to the Toronto area, you have a pretty good idea of where you're going to be based before getting hired.

The final point is that almost all of the regionals in Canada have flow through or a guaranteed interview to mainline. This is something that only some regional in the US have.

If Trump gets elected I will gladly trade spots with ya.. or with anyone stuck in Syria, North Korea, Congo-

Thanks for the replies!

After doing some further research, it appears there are no regionals openly sponsoring foreigners, if at all. My best bet would be to finish my ATPL then contact each regional's hiring department directly.

I can certainly appreciate why some pilots might resent foreigners entering a job market where the labour group has finally gained leverage over the employers. That being said, if it's to the point where companies are having to cancel flights and park aircraft due to lack of labour, I'm surprised that pilots are not part of the exempted professions, despite a degree not being a requirements for the profession.

For those who posted words of support - thank you. Canada and the US have very similar licensing standards and job markets. In an ideal world, there would be an open borders labour policy between the two, but I digress.

For me, living in the US would be ideal, but not a make or break issue. Like another poster stated, Canada's market is similar to the US's prior to the new pilot requirements. There isn't a shortage of pilots, so regionals are still hiring around 2000hrs. The regional salaries in Canada are quite a bit lower, especially considering our exchange rate and cost of living, and the upgrade times are nowhere near that of the US. That being said, there are good jobs in Canada and the mainline carriers offer good careers.

Thanks again!

Im voting for Trump, this industry used to be primarily conservative. Im for building the wall, and deporting everyone that can't speak English fluently, and/or here illegally

... Then your airline will have a staffing problem.


I kid, I kid!