Globalised US Immigration’s Principal Lawyer, Sherwin Noorian, provided insights to the Australian Financial Review in a 16 August 2022 article entitled “US unions push back against recruitment of Australian pilots“.
In the article, Sherwin discusses the recent proliferation of the use of the E-3 visa for Australians to recruit Airline Pilots from Australia to fly in the United States, primarily at regional airlines and freight carriers.
Unions in the US have complained in some cases of the use of the E-3 visa, but there is not much they can do as the E-3 visa is embodied in legislation and would require Congressional action to change, which is highly unlikely.
The recruitment of Airline Pilots continues to rise with US airlines utilising the flexibility and availability of the E-3 visa to address severe shortages of pilots in the United States.
Do Pilots need a university degree to apply for an E-3 visa?
Pilots should have a university (Bachelors) degree or higher to be eligible for an E-3 work visa, but work experience may be used in lieu of the degree. Many Australian pilots have Diplomas in Aviation or similar fields that involved one or two years of full-time study. These can potentially count as university-equivalent study and reduce the work experience requirement to 9 or 6 years, respectively.
A little known provision of the regulations also allows an E-3 visa to be issued solely on the basis that the applicant possess the full licence required to perform the occupation in the United States, even without a degree or requisite work experience. This would mean that a Pilot with a full FAA commercial pilots licence should be issued an E-3 visa, but expert legal guidance is recommended.
Emergency (Expedited) E-3 Interviews for Pilots
Pilots seeking to begin work in the US as soon as possible may lodge an emergency (expedited) interview request with the US Consulate. We can assist with these requests. Approvals are at the discretion of the US Consulate, however, a strong case can be made that the emergency interview will benefit the US public interests in critical infrastructure.
Faster Interviews at US Consulates in Papua New Guinea and Fiji
We have arranged E-3 interviews at US Consulates in PNG and Fiji for those who do not wish to wait 2+ months for visa interviews. These Consulates have readily available interviews, sometimes within a matter of days.
Globalised US Immigration have been contacted by many Australian Pilots seeking assistance with their E-3 visa applications. We assist Pilots with their applications and interviews at US Consulates by providing our Consular Support service which includes appointment booking, fee payment, expedited appointments, DS-160 drafting, document collection and advice, and pre-interview prep sessions. Contact us to learn more.
