Question regarding a foreign student?

[FlyingToIST]

I have a potential customer who is on the F1 visa going to college here in US. He wants to take flight lessons. Can he go and get the approval from TSA and start flying outside his hours?
His degree is MBA, not a flying degree..

Thanks..

 

[woutlaw]

AOPA has a good guide to the process. http://www.aopa.org/tsa_rule/

I went through the TSA deal with a foreign (Canadian) student and it wasn't that bad. It took some research and some phone calls to find a place that would do his fingerprints, but overall it was pretty simple.

My advise it to stick with the process and recognize that it'll take a month or two before you can start flying.

Basically:

You register as a training provider with the TSA.

Your student registers as an alien seeking flight training and selects you as their training provider.

You confirm.

The student completes paperwork.

The TSA sends a preliminary approval, which doesn't mean you can start training.

Your student gets fingerprinted and sends in $135.

The TSA gives their blessing.

You collect a bunch of documents from your student, take their picture and upload it to the TSA and you start training.

All of this, with the exception of the fingerprinting, takes place online.

Good luck!

 

[SPilot]

I dont think TSA really cares about what kind of VISA, they state on their website that each customer must ensure they have a valid one. And thats they way it should be...they hunt for terrorists, and give the rest of us some slack.

 

[minitour]

TSA doesn't care about the visa, but the INS sure as hell does.

You register as a provider on the TSA's website.

Have the student check with the INS about his/her visa. If they aren't permitted to do flight training under their visa (I think the F visa's are allowed...we're going through an INS process right now and I think that's right) they can be deported.

-mini

 

[AK47]

I have a potential customer who is on the F1 visa going to college here in US. He wants to take flight lessons. Can he go and get the approval from TSA and start flying outside his hours?
His degree is MBA, not a flying degree..

Thanks..

Students who already have F1 visas for a different course of study can be taking flight lessons as long as their visas are valid.