Frequently Asked Questions

Can a person apply for Pilot Apprenticeship by holding a Green Card?

State Regulation concludes the answer is no, because regulations require applicants to be citizens of the US.

State Regulation for eligibility to apply for apprenticeship (copied below) adopt Federal Regulations as of Oct 2007 for eligibility to apply for a Coast Guard issued license (also copied below), and one criterion is that applicants for a Coast Guard issued license must be citizens of the US, as documented in 46 CFR 10.205(c) below. A holder of a Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) is not a citizen.

South Carolina Code of Regulations 136-014, Apprentice Citizenship and Physical Requirements.

A. Every apprentice applicant must meet the requirements of Section 54-15-100 of the 1976 Code and the Coast Guard requirements for citizenship, physical health, and general federal licensure as contained in 46 CFR 10.201-10.223.

Adopted cites from the 2007 edition of Title 46 Code of Federal Regulations relevant to citizenship are:

46 CFR 10.201 (a) The applicant for a license must establish to the satisfaction of the Coast Guard that he or she possesses ... qualifications including citizenship ... before the Coast Guard will issue a license or certificate of registry.

46 CFR 10.201 (e) No license ... may be issued to any person who is not a citizen of the United States.

46 CFR 10.205 (c) Citizenship. Each applicant must provide acceptable evidence of his or her citizenship to the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard will reject any evidence of citizenship that we do not believe to be authentic. Acceptable evidence of citizenship means an original of any one of the following documents:
(1) Original or a certified copy of a birth certificate, issued by a State, county, municipality or outlying possession of the U.S. bearing an official seal.(2) Merchant mariner's document issued by the Coast Guard after February 3, 2003 that shows that the holder is a citizen of the U.S.;(3) Certificate of Citizenship issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services or the Immigration and Naturalization Service;(4) Certificate of Naturalization issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services or the Immigration and Naturalization Service; or(5) Unexpired U.S. State Department passport.