Stories and Lifestyle

The interesting story of a "flying" customer who was so kind as to send us his story. For personal reasons, the customer does not want to be mentioned by name. You may still contact him, however, especially in case you can offer him personal advice. If you are interested, please contact our editorial staff.

Please note: We don't take any responsibility for the contents of this article and any behavioral advice, especially for immigration issues. The contents do not necessarily represent the editorial staff's opinion.

I now want to tell you my story that began full of hope in 1994 and first of all had nothing to do with America and green card.

How it all started In January 1994 I had decided to be trained as a pilot after all other jobs I had tried didn't seem right for me at all. Everything started so well - the medical attestation that I was fit to be a pilot and so I started at a good pilot school in Worms with my private pilot license in April of 1994 and had it in the same year by December. I used 1995 to improve my English, since this is important for the real professional pilot license. In December of 1995 I applied for theory lessons for the Commercial Pilot License CPL. And then, in January of 1996, the unbelievable happened - at the medical check-up my doctor revoked my fitness status I and II for the professional pilot license. The reason was that he had made a mistake two years earlier, in the January of 1994. He told me I could still write to the FA (Fliegerärztlicher Ausschuss = committee of doctors for pilots) of the Luftfahrtbundesamt (Federal Office of Civil Aeronautics) to get a final ruling. I should mention that I had a weak right eye, which had been diagnosed when I was four and it couldn't be corrected with surgery, glasses or contact lenses.

Disappointments You can imagine how disappointed I was, but it was about to get even worse. In the February of 96 I wrote to the FA in Brunswick, it took one more year until I had the crushing result. On January 29, 1997 I was told that I was unsuitable as a pilot in the categories I and II, III is only for private pilots. I would like to mention that the requirements for pilots are the same Europe-wide, which means I can't be trained as a pilot in other European countries either. I used the next months of 1997 to deal with the frustration, which was only partly successful. The disappointment of not being able to be trained as a pilot or work as a pilot was just too great. But then I found new hope - a colleague told me I could try being tested according to US regulations, because they issue special permits in certain cases, and maybe also for me. No sooner said then done. In June 1997 I had an appointment with a German flight surgeon in Stuttgart who is authorized to issue pilot certificates according to US regulations. He explained to me that I would have to take a so-called "Special Flight Test," best in America with an inspector of the Federal Aviation Administration. He said it was possible to get a so-called SODA after a successful test with a FAA inspector.

New hope SODA is an abbreviation and stands for Statement of Demonstrated Ability. This will be regarded in connection with the First, Second or Third Class Medical. In my case, since I wanted to become a professional pilot, I needed First Class, of course. To make a long story short: SODA is the special permit that I would so much have liked to get from my home country, which will never be possible. After the good news from this flight surgeon in Stuttgart, I had hope again of maybe still making it as a professional pilot, just not in my homeland Germany.

Gleam of hope - USA That way, I disappointedly turned my back on Germany in the November of 1997 to achieve two things in America - get my first class medical and then my Commercial Pilot License (CPL). Both worked out all right! In April 1998 I passed the Special Flight Test with ease on the first try, with a very friendly and helpful inspector from the FAA in Puyallup, Washington who was disappointed and shocked as well when I told him about my experiences with German authorities and Europe on the whole. I spent the rest of 1998 doing intense language training in order to prepare myself for the difficult tasks ahead. In the February of 1999 I found a Flight Aviation College in Auburn, Washington (the Evergreen State) near Seattle that I really liked. The people there helped me realize my dreams. In May 1999 I already passed a very important test - the Instrument Rating. My American pilot colleagues were quite impressed that a "foreigner" was able to pass this test after only four months.

Light at the end of the tunnel? The chief flight instructor's comment was short but impressed: "We haven't seen that very often in our international college that an English as a second language student passes this difficult test at the first try. Congratulations!" I spent the rest of 1999 with intense preparation for the already mentioned CPL, that I passed in February 2000, also on the first try. In the same month of February I had a talk with the chief flight instructor about my future as an American commercial pilot. He told me that there was basically no way around a Flight Instructor Certificate to collect the necessary flight lessons for the American ATPL (Airline Transport Pilot License). After talking to my parents and siblings, I also took classes for the flight instructor certificate. I knew that this would again cost a few thousand Dollars that I would have to pay for myself. Still in the same month of February I sat down with an American lawyer in Seattle who took care of immigration law. One thing became clear quickly - the green card would be the final step toward finally pursuing my (may I say, well-earned) career as a pilot.

Green card - bureaucracy He explained to me that a green card application in the "Skilled Worker" category (Editor: EB3) may well be successful. The condition would be, however, that a sponsor, meaning an employer - in my case a flying school or an air taxi company - would have to be found. It might take up to two or three years until a green card application was approved and it is irrelevant whether you have the M-1 or F-1 student status. The lawyer's fee would be between 6,000 and 8,000 Dollars, depending on the length of the process. After this talk, while I was preparing for my final flight instructor exam, I started thinking. Would I succeed in finding a solid sponsor for a few years? Would I have the right timing and the necessary amount of luck this time? Questions that weighed heavily on me over time, but I tried focusing on my flight instructor license. I finally successfully passed the exam. At this point in my letter, I would like to tell you, dear American Dream team, about the time from before 2001 until July 2002. As we all know, September 11, 2001 has affected air travel severely, the consequences can still be felt today.

Too bad... What do you think happened with my sponsorship for the green card? Absolutely NOTHING! My luck had left me again. There was just emptiness and disappointment. When I wrote my applications in August of 2001 and sent them to potential sponsors, e.g. air taxi companies in Alaska and flight schools, I still had high hopes that quickly dissolved after September 11. Despite many applications (roughly 100!) and interviews at many air taxi companies and flight schools, no one could or wanted to help me as a "foreigner." At the college I had attended in Auburn I saw how many pilots who already had jobs at airlines were being fired. They returned to the college to at least work as flight instructors, but of course not all of them succeeded. Of course, no one had the time or the energy to talk about a green card sponsorship with me, and even less time to get first information from my lawyer. There were just too many problems within the company at that time that had to be dealt with. Despite the difficult situation I decided to do my Practical Training on the M-1 Visa, which is actually just a (Editor: temporary) work permit for 6 months that you can only be issued once.

As I already mentioned, finding employment was impossible, even though USCIS granted my work permit from February 2002 until July 2002. And then it was July 19, 2002 - the day I had to return to Germany. Disappointedly, I had to turn my back on the land of opportunity, just as I had done with my home country in 1997. The thoughts and feelings that still accompany me today and probably won't leave me in the future are simply these: how much can one person take who just wants to work in his chosen profession and is not willing to give up?! Of course, I am grateful for the fact that I am healthy and my family is glad that I'm back home. But, of course. I am very disappointed. Just recently I have managed to find a job working on the assembly line for car manufacturer Ford, I get paid quite well. But the same thoughts are haunting me again - do I have to keep this job until I retire? Is there still hope for America and my American Commercial Pilot License? There would be with a green card, but sometimes hope and reality are two very different things - bitter experiences that will never leave me. Of course, hope remains - hope to make it with your help and maybe a bit of luck!

Hope remains In response to the question: will I have to keep this job until I retire? Answer: possibly yes, because I finally have to get used to having jobs that are not really satisfying career-wise. A situation that I will probably never fully accept. Maybe it should be a consolation for me that there are others who risked less and also didn't realize their dreams, for whatever reasons.

With this report I would like to point out the deplorable state of affairs in our homeland Germany and Europe. How can it be possible that in that huge country of America where there are thousands of flights a day and the airspace is even more crowded than it is in old Europe, I can get the special permit for class I and not in Germany and Europe. I spoke to many professors from many ophthalmic hospitals and even obtained an experts opinion from an ophthalmologist (6 pages), and sent it together with my application for reevaluation of my suitability as a pilot to the FA (Fliegerärztlicher Ausschuss). As we all know, this didn't help either. By the way, the FA didn't even invite me for a personal exam. Whatever, we know the FA's decision and it is incontestable. I can also tell you that the German ophthalmologists all agreed with me and would have given me the First Class certificate. I would very much like to show the people from the FA my SODA from America. It would be a special treat for me to see the stupid looks on their faces. Unfortunately, that wouldn't change my situation.

I know from different flight surgeons in America (every time I had my FIRST CLASS MEDICAL extended for another six months) that many active pilots are allowed to fly who have eye problems quite similar to mine. Thanks to the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) medical section 67.19...unbelievable...What a crazy world we live in! It is a consolation for me to know that I at least tried achieving my goals. I have willingly made a lot of sacrifices, I got a lot of compliments and appreciation, but also criticism. Many of my family members rightly criticize that, despite my very expensive pilot training I couldn't succeed in making something of it - namely, having a good and regular income and permanent residence in America, with the green card.

So, dear American Dream team, at the end of this rather long and detailed letter I would like to thank you in advance for your patience and the time you took to read this.

I wish your green card winners a good start and a content and happy life in America! And, of course, I hope that I will be so lucky one day as well...