Question about foreign schools/ licenses

[cajaya]

Does anyone know how easy or hard it is to transfer a foreign license to an American one? And if it is
possible, which countries' licenses are transferable??

Thanks

[Jeffrox]

That post discussion has occured on this forum already. As I recall, it isn't possible.

[jdcavo]

Does anyone know how easy or hard it is to transfer a foreign license to an American one? And if it is
possible, which countries' licenses are transferable?? Thanks

Currently, you cannot "transfer" a foreign license to a U.S. document. In STCW, that is known as an "endorsement" and the U.S. does not endorse foreign documents. Although we have proposed to endorse documents in certain, very limited cases, we have not adopted such a policy at present, and the one that was proposed would only apply to specific vessels in specific countries where by law the vessel is allowed to employ foreign mariners.

The above notwithstanding, you can use the service and training to acquire a foreign document to qualify for an American document. You will need to meet the same requirements as any other mariner applying for an original credential (including U.S. citizenship, or if only applying for an unlicensed rating credemntial, permanent resident alien status). You should be pre3pared to provide complete documentation of all service and training used to acquire your foreign documents.