International Students

How to Get Started (For International Students)

Applying to a school in the United States can be challenging without the right guidance and support. At Pelican Flight Training (PFT), we welcome hundreds of international students each year on both M-1 and F-1 student visas. With our extensive experience, we ensure that your application process goes smoothly and provide the best possible assistance in securing your student visa from the embassy. You can reach us by phone,if you’re ready to apply, fill out our 'Contact Us' form.

Next, you’ll need to send the following items to us.

• Non-refundable application enrollment/processing fee of $515 via wire transfer, credit card, money order, or cashier’s check made payable to Pelican Flight Training L.L.C.
• Bank statement copy confirming the necessary funds to finance your training and living expenses during your stay in the United States. (Take the original to the US Embassy for your VISA appointment.) If you have a sponsor supporting your training you will need to present letter of support from your sponsor.
• A copy of the photo page of your current passport.
• In order to determine your English language fluency, we require an English copy of your education records and you CV.
• To show that you are ready to succeed in academic curriculum Student should provide proof of graduating from U.S. High School or its equivalent . If at the time of your arriving you will not be able to present the certified equivalence of your high-school educational diplomas, the school will need do get it for you, the cost of validation in such case will be 250$.
• If you possess a pilot’s license, send us a copy plus the latest page in your logbook listing up-to-date flight time.

After receipt of all information at Pelican Flight Training, School will send you to sign the Enrollment Agreement and then we will send you an original signed Certificate of Eligibility for Non-immigrant Student Status (I-20), which will allow you to schedule an appointment with the US Embassy in your home country so they may issue you a non-immigrant student VISA.

Your Visa Appointment

1. When you have your I-20 SEVIS ID# (at the top right on your I-20 Form), you may start plan an appointment for your visa interview. Keep in mind, that at the date of interview you should have your original I-20 with you.
2. Pay you SEVIS fee following up the instructions on https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/paying-the-i-901-sevis-fee
3. Pay the visa application fee by following instructions on http://ustraveldocs.com/in/in-niv-visafeeinfo.asp
4. Complete the form DS-160 Online http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/in-niv-ds160info.asp. Be sure to write down your application ID number, you may need it if the application process will be done not for the one time and you may need additional time complete and submit it.
   1. Length of stay in the U.S.: as per your Enrolment Agreement.
   2. Address in U.S.: Pelican Flight Training, 1601 SW 75th Ave Pembroke Pines, FL 33023 USA.
5. After you have the receipt number for your visa application fee and the submitted number for your DS-160, you may schedule the appointment/interview date with the US Embassy.
6. Prepare and bring the following to your visa interview
   
   • A passport valid for at least six months after your intended departure from the U.S.
   • Form I-20 (sign the form on Page 1, Student or Sponsor’s line at the bottom)
   • School admission letter or/and Signed Enrollment Agreement.
   • DS-160 Online bar code page
   • One 2”x 2” photograph
   • Receipt for the visa application fee
   • Receipt for the SEVIS fee, original or printed from your computer.
   • Financial evidence showing you have sufficient funds to cover your training and living expenses during your intended study period.
   • Information proving that you will return to your home country after finishing your studies in the United States which may include proof of property, family or other ties to your community.
7. Once you have your visa, be sure to verify that you received the correct personal and school information on your Visa, including the correct spell of your name. If you did not, contact the embassy where you had your visa interview to have it corrected.

TSA registration

The next step you will need to do

When you have signed enrollment Agreement and I-20 from the school, you may start the registration with the TSA.

The TSA Foreign Flight Training Rule requires that all non-US citizens (including those with a green card) planning to do any kind of flight training in any type of aircraft (airplane/helicopter/flight simulator) that could be used towards their initial FAA certificate (private/commercial, etc), Instrument Rating or Multi-Engine Rating complete the process outlined below. The information you give will be used to do a background check. This process cannot begin until six months or less before you will start training.

(a) Register with TSA at www.flightschoolcandidates.gov

• You must have your passport information to register.
• You will be issued a user ID and setup a password for the TSA website which you should keep for use for all of your additional training taken in the future in USA.

(b) Enter your personal information and training into the TSA website. This is the information you will need to have ready:

• Full name, including any aliases or variations in spelling; use only English letters, do not use special characters
• Identifying information such as height, weight, hair and eye color
• Country of birth, current country or countries of citizenship and each previous country of citizenship
• Starting and ending dates of each citizenship
• Current pilot certificate(s) and certificate number(s), if any
• Passport and U.S. visa information, including all current and previous passports and U.S. visas held. The .pdf of your passport information page and the visas should be available to be uploaded to the site as the separate entries.
• Current address and telephone number, as well as each address held for longer than 30 days for the five years prior to the date of the application. Also be ready to provide the U.S. address where you will stay during your training.
• Employment history, including employer contact information
• Training information – TSA requires candidates to register for training toward their initial FAA certificate, Instrument Rating and Multi-Engine Rating (airplane students only). You must register for the course that is closest to your training goal.

(c) Dates of flight training (this can be a reasonable estimate) and cannot start earlier than the date of your application.

(d) Remember that after you add All the previous steps you SHOULD SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION.

(e) Check your e-mail frequently for any messages from the TSA. If something is missing or incorrect on your application, the process does not continue.

(f) Once Pelican Flight training has validated your training request, the TSA directs you to pay a $130.00 USD fee which covers the cost of the background/security check.

(g) After the TSA receives all of the above information, you and Pelican Flight training are notified that your documentation has been accepted and we can send you the necessary paperwork to get your visa. The e-mail from the TSA gives you approval to have your fingerprints taken (see next step).

(h) You must have your fingerprints taken at a TSA-approved location. DO not forget to follow the instruction and make a payment for fingerprints before you will make them done. To make a payment start from the page https://secure.natacs.aero/afsp/find_location.asp , and do not forget to bring with you to the appointment your passport and NATA-CS Custody and Control form confirming your payment. This needs to be done only one time, regardless of the number of times you enter the U.S. for training (as long as you use the same account each time).

(i) Upon arrival the school, School Admission personal must take your picture and submit it to the TSA.

(j) TSA notifies you and Pelican Flight training of flight approval once your application is complete, including your fingerprints. You can then begin flight training. If the background check determines you are a risk, flight training must stop immediately.

For Pilots With a Foreign License

If you already have a foreign license and would like to obtain a U.S. pilot certificate or rating, you must first request a Verification of Authenticity to the FAA’s Airmen Certification Branch (AFS-760) http://registry.faa.gov . All instructions concerning this pre-application may be found on the FAA’s web site at http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/foreign_license_verification/.

This process takes usually two to three weeks. For additional school information for the forms please don’t hesitate to contact us.

1. You need to visit website  IACRA. This is the web-based certification/rating application that guides the user through the FAA’s airman application process. New User Guide is here.

2. Complete the registration and create an account on the website.

3. Log in to your IACRA account, select the "Start Foreign License Verification Process" button, then follow the prompts to upload your ICAO license and medical documentation.

4. Within 45-90 days, you will receive a letter from the FAA confirming they have received your documents and granting approval to schedule an appointment with an examiner to complete the necessary paperwork.

5. We will schedule an examination date upon your arrival in the United States.

6. At your meeting with the examiner, they will review your documents and confirm your proficiency in the English language. Once you receive your temporary restricted certificate, you will need to complete an FAA Flight Review as outlined in section §61.56 CFR 14. 

Note: If the examiner finds your English language proficiency to be lacking for flight training, they may decline to issue the validation.

If you have any concerns with this process, contact us.

Pelican Flight Training is an equal opportunity institution committed to offering a diverse learning environment for its students, instructors, and staff.