“Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, some U.S. airlines had begun to misuse U.S. visa programs—particularly E-3 and H-1B ‘specialty occupation’ visas—to avoid market pressures and artificially maintain pilot pay rates and work rules insufficient to attract qualified U.S. pilots. Though this activity slowed during the first part of the pandemic, we now have evidence of Spirit Airlines management scheduling recruiting sessions in cities in Australia in July,” .
Source: From a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas from Capt. Joe DePete, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), and Capt. Ryan Muller, chair of ALPA’s Spirit Airlines pilot