To Our Foreign Pilot Friends
As result of the many governmental changes that occurred following September 11 2001, the FAA stopped issuing walk-in foreign pilots U.S. pilot certificates based upon their foreign licenses. Any foreign pilot wanting to get a U.S. FAA Pilot Certificate based upon their foreign license must submit the following at least 60 days in advance to the FAA: FAA Verification of Authenticity or a letter with copies of the required items attached (foreign pilot license and medical and driver’s license — English translations, if needed), statements that the license is not suspended or revoked, name of FSDO where the person is going to get the U.S. FAA Pilot Certificate (Honolulu FSDO, 135 Nakolo Place, Honolulu, Hawaii 96819) and other common sense items. The application or letter is mailed to the FAA, Airmen Certification Branch, AFS-760, POB 25082, Oklahoma, OK 73125. Call or email with any questions. If you are a holder of a foreign ATP from an ICAO country and would like to get a FAA ATP and meet the requirements, contact us to arrange for a written test and a flight check.
If you are interested in receiving flight training for a pilot certificate, you must have us sponsor an M-1 visa for you and you must also submit it to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for review. The current price for processing a Form I-20 is around $100.00 and payable to the approved flight school (the fee is nonrefundable and non-transferable), approximately $100.00 to SEVIS, and approximately $130.00 to TSA to cover finger printing and their processing. Current interpretation by TSA is that all foreign persons wanting a Sport, Recreational, Private, Instrument, or Multi-Engine Pilot certificate must submit to a TSA for review. The flight school is authorized to issue the non-immigrant the I-20 Form for the M-1 visa for Private, Instrument, Commercial, and Professional CFI courses. Recommend you go to get the latest information at the AOPA web site: https://www.aopa.org/advocacy/pilots/alien-flight-training-program/aliens-and-non-us-citizens-seeking-flight-training
