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Hi,
A month ago I left my job where I was employed under the L1a visa. Shortly after I sent a petition for change of status for a B2 visa as I want to travel before heading back to Europe. I want to finish my private pilots license (PPL) training, get my license and then travel as a tourist in the US flying myself around.
M1 visas require 22hours minimum of study a week and then lose validity as soon as the course ends.
B2 visas allow short study but not study that is for the purpose of certification. -- for the PPL I've been told by some schools B2 is ok but apparently this info is outdated; a senior examiner said that this topic was recently discussed by the FAA, TSA, and UCIS and they concluded an M1 visa was required if certification for the ppl license was being sort
My challenge is I only expect it to take me about 10 to 15 hours flying before I take the test and so if I change to a M1 I would be in the course a week before needing to change to a B2 to use the license to travel.
Is there a way to either:
1) request a change of status of both B2 and M1 concurrently ie with duel intent?
2) request a sequential status of M1 for lets say a month and then convert to a B2
I suppose I could apply for the change to M1 then once approved get my license (hopefully a couple weeks later) and petition for a B2 but this short turn around seems like it might cause problems.
Also I've sent in my application (I539) for the change to B2 so is there a way for me to change this to a petition for either of the above options?
Lastly what use if any would there be in using the InfoPass service (ie would it help me find a solution)
Many Thanks,
Douglas
A month ago I left my job where I was employed under the L1a visa. Shortly after I sent a petition for change of status for a B2 visa as I want to travel before heading back to Europe. I want to finish my private pilots license (PPL) training, get my license and then travel as a tourist in the US flying myself around.
M1 visas require 22hours minimum of study a week and then lose validity as soon as the course ends.
B2 visas allow short study but not study that is for the purpose of certification. -- for the PPL I've been told by some schools B2 is ok but apparently this info is outdated; a senior examiner said that this topic was recently discussed by the FAA, TSA, and UCIS and they concluded an M1 visa was required if certification for the ppl license was being sort
My challenge is I only expect it to take me about 10 to 15 hours flying before I take the test and so if I change to a M1 I would be in the course a week before needing to change to a B2 to use the license to travel.
Is there a way to either:
1) request a change of status of both B2 and M1 concurrently ie with duel intent?
2) request a sequential status of M1 for lets say a month and then convert to a B2
I suppose I could apply for the change to M1 then once approved get my license (hopefully a couple weeks later) and petition for a B2 but this short turn around seems like it might cause problems.
Also I've sent in my application (I539) for the change to B2 so is there a way for me to change this to a petition for either of the above options?
Lastly what use if any would there be in using the InfoPass service (ie would it help me find a solution)
Many Thanks,
Douglas
