German flight students sent home in wake of crackdown

Jeffrey Libby

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2001 | 9:09 a.m.

Two German flight students jailed for visa violations have returned home after spending several days in the North Las Vegas jail.

Agents for the Immigration and Naturalization Services on Saturday escorted Mehmet Wabamci, 26, to McCarran International Airport. On Tuesday, they escorted Alexandros Milanowski, 20, from the jail to the airport. Both were bound for Germany.

The men, who arrived in Las Vegas Sept. 23, appear to have been victims of a new crackdown on foreign students by the INS and other agencies in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. No clear notice to flight schools regarding policy changes preceded the arrests, and INS administrators said they were unaware of any new policies.

The German consul in Las Vegas and a local flight school owner say an announcement of new requirements could in the future help avoid unnecessary jailings of foreign students.

The INS on Oct. 29 arrested Milanowski and Wabamci for traveling to the United States on tourist visas while intending to learn to fly small planes.

Citizens of 29 countries, mostly from Western Europe and South America, have for years traveled to the states simply by signing waiver forms as they board planes. Many foreign flight students have taken advantage of this convenience, representing themselves as tourists when going to the United States, where rates for flight training are cheaper.

Prospective students have always been required to declare at U.S. consulates abroad their intentions to take vocational training in the United States, but the requirement has not been monitored closely, and flight schools have recommended that students declare themselves as tourists.

Both men say West Air Aviation, the North Las Vegas flight school where they trained, recommended that they travel as tourists. They say they did not know they had violated any laws. West Air Aviation has not returned calls for comment.

Wabamci and Milanowski will be able to return to the United States as tourists or students if they choose, but only by applying first with the U.S. consulate in Germany.

Sigrid Sommer, German consul in Las Vegas, said Tuesday that she hopes federal agencies will work with flight schools so foreign students know what is expected of them before they fly to this country.

Dot Stewart, owner of Aviator's, a North Las Vegas flight school, agreed.

"They should put out a directive to all flight schools that says this is what foreign flight students need to do. It's just one letter," Stewart said.