Welcome to Lift-Off, our latest newsletter packed with insights on helicopter pilot training and building a career in aviation
Today we want to share with you what our F1 visa is and why this is such a big deal for international pilots.
F1 Visa
The F1 visa is an absolute game-changer for us European pilots, as this visa allows you to work as a helicopter pilot or flight instructor in the USA for 23.5 months following your pilot training. These 23.5 months are made up of CPT (Curricular Practical Training) and OPT (Optional Practical Training).
Working on the F1 visa
After you have completed the training and found a job either with us or another company, we will issue you the CPT. This is renewed every 3 months and is valid for a total of 11.5 months. The OPT, on the other hand, is issued directly by the U.S. authorities, and you must apply for it yourself. Therefore, you should submit the application at least 3 months before your CPT expires. If you submit it too late, you may not be allowed to work for several weeks. This happened to me in 2016, for example, when I couldn’t work for 5 weeks between my CPT and OPT despite great weather. During your training, my colleagues in the U.S. will also hold briefings on this topic, so you will receive this information again.
Rules of the F1 visa
To fully take advantage of the benefits of the F1 visa, our school must meet many requirements, which in turn have a direct impact on your training. Our training program is structured in such a way that all of these rules are followed. This is also one of the reasons why our training can only be completed in a full-time program and cannot be divided into short blocks.
Apply for the F1 visa
To apply for the F1 visa, you must first enroll at our school. The documents you need to upload during your registration primarily serve to ensure that you meet the requirements for the F1 visa.
The required documents are:
- A passport
- It is best if it is valid for at least 4 years.
- Proof of financial resources
- You must show proof of funds equivalent to 84,000 US dollars, although this does not reflect the actual training and living expenses.
- High school diploma
- This must be equivalent to a U.S. high school diploma, such as a Fachabitur, Abitur, Matura, etc. If you do not have this, you can instead take an Ability to Benefit test. This costs 50 US dollars, and I can gladly send you more information about it.
- English proficiency
- Since the training is conducted entirely in English, you must have a certain level of proficiency in the English language. If necessary, we can test this level.
After you have uploaded your documents, taken the Ability to Benefit test (if required), and paid the registration fees, we will issue you the so-called I-20 form. You will receive this by email along with instructions on how to apply for the visa. The waiting times at embassies and consulates vary, so it often makes sense to check the current waiting times here:
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/wait-times.html
The visa interview at the embassy or consulate is usually quite quick and simple. The officers mainly want to ensure that you do not plan to stay in the U.S. illegally.
After the interview, your visa will be attached to your passport, which will then be sent back to you.
With the visa, you are allowed to enter the U.S. up to 30 days before the start of your training.
FAQs
On our website, we’ve created a very comprehensive list of common questions about pilot training. You should definitely take a look at it! http://en.flyhaa.de/faq
Webinars
We regularly host webinars and live events around Europe, where we share a lot of information about the training and the career in the helicopter cockpit. You can watch the recording of our latest webinar here:
