Expert: D. Norkus - 7/8/2008

Question
I am Abdul Rafay and i am currently doing A-Levels from Pakistan.My A-Levels will complete till June 2009.After my A-Levels i want to be a pilot from United States but i have no   information about being a pilot.So can you please tell me about the total expenses and total duration of time of flight training.Also tell me that can we do a part time job along with our training to overcome the expenses.
Please do reply me with all the information.You can contact me on my email address.
                                       Sincerly Yours
                                     Abdul Rafay Rajpoot

Answer
It can be very difficult for a foreign national to become a commercial pilot in the United States. Even commercial pilots who are already qualified in other countries may have trouble getting the right to work in this country and if they do, they must have the flight hours (plus an associates or bachelors degree) to be a competitive pilot candidate or they won't get hired by an airline.  

Any aspiring pilot that is not a U.S. citizen must get a special visa via the Alien Flight Student Program/AFSP that allows them to visit the United States for the purpose of flight training. Before the pilot candidate is approved for this visa, they must provide proof that they have all the funding required or have secured financing/loans for the entire pilot training course or they will not be issued the visa. The cost will vary depending on the school and the rates they charge but you should expect it will cost upwards of $60,000 USD. AFSP candidates may only enroll with flight schools on an approved list. You must contact one of the approved schools for an estimate of their program costs.

Here are some links to approved schools that may be able to give you a price quite so you can compare fees-

California-
http://www.ameliareid.com/training_foreign.php4
http://www.duboisaviation.com/id15.html
http://www.sdfti.com

Utah-
http://www.gandbflightacademy.com/index.php?/eng/intl_students

Florida-
http://www.sunstateaviation.com/
http://www.jetuniversity.com/tsa_registration.html

Additionally, non-U.S. citizens must apply online through the AFSP website and provide their fingerprints, biographical information, security documents including passport copies, and specific information about their desired training events.  The AFSP processes candidate training request applications using four different categories distinguished by the type of training requested. An application fee of $130 for the background check is required.

This visa does NOT permit the pilot trainee to take on any job while in the country. It is a visitor visa, not a work permit, so you cannot work a full or part job to earn money.

Get all the information about this visa and the application process here-

https://www.flightschoolcandidates.gov/

Other helpful links explaining the AFSP-

http://www.aopa.org/tsa_rule/
http://flighttraining.aopa.org/ft_magazine/special/training.cfm

To be able to work in the USA, as a pilot or in any other capacity, you MUST have an Employment Authorization Document/EAD. To find out about how to obtain one visit this link-

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a...

As an aspiring pilot, you may also find this web message board of interest- http://www.pprune.org

Good Luck
Dottie