ICAO ATP License Conversion
into FAA (US) with TR

Why AeroCadet?

Aerocadet is an aviation training and career development consulting agency, operating with the multi-regional offices in the United States, Hong Kong, Caribbean, Canada, India, Czech Republic and more. Our consultants are current and former airline pilots who use their expertise and experience to help aspiring and current pilots to achieve their licensing and employment objectives on the international aviation employment market.

What is FAA ATPL?

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic control, certification of personnel and aircraft, setting standards for airports, and protection of U.S. assets during the launch or re-entry of commercial space vehicles. Powers over neighboring international waters were delegated to the FAA by authority of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Created in August 1958, the FAA replaced the former Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) and later became an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The FAA Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) stands out as a comprehensive and globally recognized ICAO license, presenting numerous advantages for aspiring pilots. Here are the key benefits associated with holding an FAA ATPL:

1. Elevated Standards: The FAA upholds stringent training and safety regulations, ensuring that pilots are thoroughly prepared for diverse aviation scenarios. Many international students, particularly from Asia, Europe, Africa, and South America, choose to undergo their initial pilot training in the United States. This decision stems from the desire to demonstrate to prospective employers that they have adhered to the highest flight training standards globally, in the birthplace of modern aviation—the United States.

2. Zero Tolerance for Corruption: In contrast to flight training practices in certain developing countries, FAA instructors and examiners are immune to bribery. The FAA instills an anti-corruption culture from the outset of a pilot's training. Airlines globally acknowledge and esteem FAA pilots, recognizing that they have fully complied with the rigorous FAA exam requirements, precisely in accordance with the Practical Test Standards (PTS).

3. Robust Safety Culture: The U.S. aviation industry places a paramount emphasis on safety, instilling confidence in the skills of FAA pilots. The United States boasts one of the lowest aviation accident records per airplane globally. The U.S. airline industry has been at the forefront of developing modern safety concepts, such as Crew Resource Management (CRM), Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP), Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), Safety Management System (SMS), and others—reflecting an unwavering commitment to aviation safety in all situations.

4. Expanded Career Opportunities: Leading airlines worldwide, including Emirates, Qatar, Etihad, Cathay, Singapore, and Malaysian, favor pilots holding licenses from developed, English-speaking countries like the United States and Canada. Adding an FAA ATPL to a pilot's resume significantly enhances their prospects of employment with top-tier airlines, positioning them competitively in the job market.

5. Higher Salaries: FAA ATP licenses often command higher salaries due to their prestige and the safety reputation associated with U.S. aviation. FAA airline pilots enjoy substantially higher wages compared to their foreign counterparts. As international airlines often provide negotiable salaries, possessing an FAA ATPL becomes a valuable leverage tool during salary negotiations, potentially resulting in significantly higher annual earnings.

6. Instant License Verification: The FAA is unique in offering pilots access to the Integrated Airman Certification and/or Rating Application (IACRA), a web-based platform that facilitates immediate license verification. FAA-certified pilots can issue license verification letters swiftly, a process that typically takes weeks or even months with other aviation authorities. This efficiency is a notable advantage when seeking employment or undergoing license conversion.

7. No License Expiration: Obtaining an FAA ATPL through programs like Aerocadet's license conversion ensures an independent, standalone ATPL without an expiration date. Unlike some ICAO ATPLs that may expire or become invalid, the FAA ATPL remains valid regardless of the status of the original license.

Who can or can't convert into FAA ATPL?

Unrestricted ATPL: Most pilots holding valid, unrestricted ICAO ATPL licenses are eligible for conversion, as soon as they meet the minimum aeronautical experience requirememts for FAA ATPL. See table below.

"Frozen" ATPL: Restricted ATP licenses, such as those from EASA, also caled "Frozen", are not recognized by the FAA as "ATPL" and can only be converted to a CPL level, unless they meet the minimum aeronautical experience requirememts for FAA ATPL. See table below.

ICAO MPL ATPL: ICAO ATP licenses with the "MULTI-CREW OPERATIONS ONLY" restriction, also known as "MPL ATPL" can now be converted directly to the FAA ATPL if an ICAO MPL ATPL pilot meets the minimum aeronautical experience requirememts for FAA ATPL (See table below) and, to meet the minimum requirement of 250 PIC hours, he/she has to log at least 250 hours operating a transport category commercial aircraft as a sole manipulator of flight controls under supervision of a captain. This means that most MPL pilots are eligible for conversion.

Countries that do not respond to FAA license verification requests: Licenses issued by certain ICAO countries may not be convertible because their respective aviation authorities may not respond to the requests from the FAA for the confirmation of authenticity and validity of such pilot licenses. The reasons for this may be either political or other. Such countries include, but not limited to: China, Russian Federation, Iran, North Korea, Belarus. Therefore, we advise pilots whose licenses were issued by these aviation authorities, before starting the conversion process, to check with their respective aviation authorities whether or not their licenses are eligible for conversion. For example, some pilots from China and Russia, who have completed their flight training by undergoing government-sponsored programs, are not eligible for conversion because of the domestic pilot retention policy.

The conversion process takes approximately 3 months, including the ATPL exams study time (home-based), medical exam, theoretical exams, and paperwork review and filing.

Total duration of the conversion process, including exam preparation and license processing/mailing by FAA and Aerocadet, takes 2-3 months, out of which approximately 2 weeks are spent in the US.

More details about the conversion steps and segments:

FAA Class I medical can be taken before or after arrival in the US. It does not matter if you want to take the medical before or after taking the written exams. Aerocadet can book you an FAA AME (Aviation Medical Examiner) appointment in any major US city. However, some countries allow pilots to take FAA Class I medical locally. Please review this page to see if an FAA AME is available in your country/region. Please note: FAA medical is always issued immediately after the applicant passes the physical exam. No waiting time is required.

You ill need to register for the program by completing an enrollment application form located here >>> You will need to get a Verification Letter from the FAA of your foreign ATPL. To do so, you will need to submit a verification request via the FAA online portal called IACRA. Once submitted, FAA will contact the civil aviation authority which issued your license to verify the details provided by you in the form. Then, the issuing authority of your licenses should provide a required response to the FAA. A copy of the resulting from this interraction verification letter will be uploaded to your IACRA account. It normally takes 6 weeks to obtain a verification letter. This verification letter will be valid for a six month, unless your license' issuing aviation authority specifies a shorter period, or if your foreign license expires prior to the six month validation period. The verification letter will be submitted with the application for a certificate or rating via IACRA and will be reviewed by an assigned to your check-ride FAA examiner before allowing the exam to commence. If you are planning on taking the conversion course withint the next 6 months, you can start your IACRA application right now >>>

US requires that all applicants seeking to obtain an FAA license get a special security clearance from the US Department of Homeland Security by their TSA (Transportation Security Administration) branch. You can apply for the training clearance online, using the TSA's website. Log into the TSA site at www.flightschoolcandidates.gov and start the application process. You will be required to submit various information including background information, passport and visa information, and training details.

There is no requirement for a special M1 or F1 student visa for this conversion program, since no flying is required. All training and check-ride phases are done in a simulator. Therefore, only a regular B1/B2 visitor/business visa is required for this course. If you already have one - you can skip this step. If you do not have one - you will need to apply at a local US consulate. We will provide you all the required support paperwork, including a letter of training outline and the place of training and accmmodation information.

Once your license documents have been reviewed, verified and approved for conversion by the FAA via IACRA, you will be required to take one "FAA ATP Part 121" theoretical exam. Please note: the FAA has two different ATP exams: Part 121 for the airline pilots, and part 135 for charter pilots. Why? - We don't know, since charter pilots do not need to hold an ATPL to operate as PICs. In any case, please ensure to select Part 121 type of ATP exam, and not Part 135 type. On average, it takes approximately 6-8 weeks for an experienced airline pilot to review all the necessary FAA ATP study materials and Part 121 exam question banks, in order to pass the theoretical exams with the score of 80% or higher. The question banks contain 1500 sample questions. These exact questions, or their slight modifications, will be presented to you during the exam. You will have 3 hours to answer 100 questions.

Your written examinations will be booked by Aerocadet to be taken at a local FAA testing center. The testing centers are located all around the US and are normally present in large flight schools and aviation universities. The tests are invigilated and recorded via FAA video system to prevent cheating. Although the exam allows up to 3 hours to answer 100 questions, most experienced airline pilots who have reviewed the FAA ATP question bank, are able to finish the exam in just 25 minutes. After submission of the exam questions, your results will become availble immediately. You will be given an official FAA ATP written exam certificate right there in the testing center. You will need to bring this certificate with you to begin the FAA ATP CTP course. You will also need to present it to the FAA examiner before your sim check-ride.

FAA ATP CPT course is an ATP Certification Training Program (CTP), which is a new requirement by the FAA since 2014. The ATP CTP applies to applicants for an ATP certificate with airplane category multiengine class rating or an ATP certificate issued concurrently with an airplane type rating, and is intended to prepare the applicant to operate safely in those operations which require an ATP certificate by rule. Therefore, all the foreign and domestic applicants who want to either convert their ICAO ATPL or ICAO CPL or upgrade their FAA CPL to FAA ATP are required to take this course before they are admitted to the practical FAA ATP check-ride. The ATP CTP course must include at least 30 hours of classroom instruction and at least 10 hours of simulator training. We do this in an A320 or B737NG flight simulator (depending on pilot's current type-rating and recency of experience). You will be provided with the following study prep:

Ground school - lecture and CBT (32 hrs.); 4 hours of level 5 Flight Training Device per
crew; 6 hours of level D full flight simulator per crew

Phase 8 is for airline pilots with at least 300 hour experience on either A320 or B737NG types. After successfully completing all the phases 1-7, you will be ready to take a flight review and a check-ride. You will be provided with the follwing prep:

- Aircraft distant learning hosted by CPAT (24 hrs.)
- 12 hrs. of level D full flight simulator per crew
- A practical exam including oral and simulator check administered by in-house Evaluator

Check-ride would typically include the following points: air work (stall recovery, steep turns, 4 instrument approaches (1 ILS,1 LOC, 1 RNAV, 1 ILS single-engine/hand-flown), emergency descent and evacuation. Additional maneuvers may be added by the examiner - his/her discretion.

Once the check-ride is completed, the examiner will issue you a temporary FAA ATP license immediately, on the spot. There is no waiting period. This license will be valid for 120 days. Your permanent licenses (plastic card) will arrive by mail within the following 3 months.

Our FTP will provide pilots with the study materials for the following theoretical exams:

Pilots who are looking to convert their ICAO ATPL (or ICAO CPL) licenses to the FAA ATPL must have the following minimum aeronautical experience:

Pilots who want to convert their airman certificate to the FAA ATPL must hold the following licenses:

Accommodation is sole responsibility of the applicant and can be booked anywhere near our FTP in Orlando-Kissemee airport.

Cost Estimate

The estimated cost for this package is:

Add-ons:

Refunds:

Aerocadet is prepared to provide any support letters to the financial institutions in your country, should you require financing or a professional development loan from your local bank.

Please register here >>>

If you need a personal consultation regarding the conversion course, please email one of our highly qualified consultants with a full list of your questions, and receive a structured response within 24 hours.