Good evening! I am Gillo Giustolisi. I am an international student from Italy but have been living in the USA for about 6 years now. My questions go for both Airline pilots and ATP staff.
I am in interested in applying at ATP to ultimately become an airline pilot. I have close to no experience. My first question is: Can a Non-US citizen/Non-permanent resident attend ATP at all?
If I am able to attend and ultimately get my commercial pilot license, are US airlines able to sponsor internationals for work visas? Because I looked it up online, and in some places it says “Yes, absolutely, due to the extreme need for pilots, major airlines like Delta, American, and United can sponsor you for a work permit/visa”. But in other areas, it says that only US Pilots or Green Card holders can work for the US airlines as pilots.
That may be for some other programs offered by ATP (type ratings etc), but the Airline Career Pilot Program enrollment policies page clearly states the requirement.
As for it sucking, I respectfully disagree. It’s virtually impossible for a US pilot to get a work permit for the EU. Fair is fair.
If you enjoy the United States and would like to stay here, why not apply for a Permanant Resident Card? Then you would be able to conduct training and apply for a job in the industry.