This is the most popular question, which consists of a lot of small questions, but in general the answer is this:

1) Apply for validation and obtain Letter of Verification.

2) Find a school that offers courses ATP-CTP we offer courses of our partners, the cheapest in the US for $ 3,800. These are mandatory courses that every ATP candidate must pass through.

3) Obtain TSA approval for the ATP-CTP course and type Rating (if you want to simultaneously get a rating). After arrival in the US, you will be fingerprinted and those prints will be entered into a TSA database.

4) Pass the ATP-CTP course and type rating training (if needed).

5) Take the Written exam on the computer (125 questions for 4 hours, passing score 70%). You may take the exam at our FAA approved testing facility for the affordable price of $185.

6) After passing the courses you will pass ATP check ride with or without a type rating (on the simulator or in a twin-engine aircraft)

That was the 30,000 foot view of this process. The rest of the article is an elaboration of each of those 6 steps listed above.

2. What is validation?  How do I obtain validation?  Why do I need it anyway?

You must send documents for validation and receive a Letter of Verification from the FAA. The US Federal Government will confirm that you have a valid license in another country. Many people ask – why do I need to do this if the FAA will test my flying ability when I take the ATP Check Ride?  The answer to this lies within FAA rules and regulations.  According to federal aviation regulations, section 61.153 “Requirements for candidates for a license for ATP FAA” (https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/61.153).

It clearly states that a candidate for FAA ATP must either have:

(1) Holds a commercial pilot certificate with an instrumentrating issued under this part;

(2) Meet the military experience requirements under § 61.73 of this part to qualify for a commercial pilot certificate, and an instrumentrating if the person is a rated military pilot or former rated military pilot of an Armed Force of the United States; or

(3)Holds either a foreign airline transport pilot license with instrument privileges, or a foreign commercial pilot license with an instrument rating, that –

(i) Was issued by a contracting State to the Convention on International Civil Aviation; and

(ii) Contains no geographical limitations.

In conclusion, validation is necessary because there are prerequisites in order to get an ATP license.  Validation is the process in which the FAA confirms that you have had valid foreign ATP or Commercial foreign license.

This process take up to 90 days, so be careful and start far in advance.

3. How do I submit documents for validation?

1)Go to this website https://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/foreign_license_verification/

2) Download the application under the link: https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Form/AC_Form_8060-71.pdf

3)  and then Fill, sign, and scan the application. One of the points of the application (paragraph 11) is a point of confusion for many applicants.  Enter: “PPL Multiengine, Instrument rating”. This is not of critically important, because ANY AND ALL foreign licenses are validated with a FAA PPL. About this we have a separate section: http://skyeagle.aero/add_services/validation_faa/

4) Scan your medical certificate.  Make sure that it is valid, bilingual and contains your full name as it appears in your passport and is in accordance with your license.

5) Scan all the completed pages of your foreign pilot’s certificate and send it to: [email protected]

The service is free, there are no state taxes.

4. What is the TSA? Why is it necessary to get TSA approval and how do I get it?

TSA – Tansportation Security Administration. These are the same people who carry out passenger screening at US airports, for example. They also check and screen foreign students pilots and then approve them for flight training. After 9/11, all foreign students applying for a license from an FAA pilot are required to obtain a training permit from the TSA.  This is to prevent another catastrophe similar to 9/11.  All of the hijackers on 9/11 received flight training in the US to some extent. You must visit https://www.flightschoolcandidates.gov/, to register and apply for training at a specific educational institution. IMPORTANT: when submitting an application, you must know exactly which flight school you will train at, because you choose a service provider. If after the confirmation of TSA you decide to change the school – you will have to file a new application and pay a fee for the new ($130 for each application). If you apply for ATP-CTP and Type Rating, there will be two applications.
After the TSA examines your application and they can confirm everything you will need to be fingerprinted. They can be handed in either with the police or with a special TSA agent.  A list of  which can be found on the website above. We provide our own agent for the cost of $90 and he does everything in one day.

1. The TSA application process can take 4-5 weeks. You may view your application progression on the homepage of https://www.flightschoolcandidates.gov/ and see quickly you may be approved. Keep this in mind when planning the start of your training, because if you signed up for ATP-CTP on June 1, 2017, and you decided to apply for TSA 10 days before the start of the course, there is a considerable risk that you will be unable to fly for a few weeks. Easily avoidable if there is some preparation!
2. There are often problems with foreign last times. Sometimes they want the last name to be both in the pilot’s certificate and in the “Middle Name” field. Sometimes they want the name and last name to be together in the same “First Name” field. Have this in mind – how you wrote your name with the TSA will follow you everywhere; in a medical certificate, in a pilot certificate, in the results of a written test, in the FAA database, and so on. You must be careful with how you present your name because Americans attach great importance to bureaucracy. We know cases when the examiner refused to take exams because  the medical certificate was written with a middle name, and the written exam did not have the middle name. If two “people” on paper do not coincide, then one paper is not valid and the examination can not be accepted (well, such logic is with the examiner).
3. Sometimes fingerprinting takes more than 1-2 days. Make sure you have 2-3 days between arriving to the US and starting your ATP program.

5. How much is this going to cost me?