Starting October 20, 2004, all persons enrolling in or enrolled in a flight-training course must provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. The only documents accepted are: a current U.S. Passport, or the original or "raised seal" official copy of a birth or naturalization certificate.

Candidates that are not U.S. citizens must follow the "alien registration" process at http://www.flightschoolcandidates.gov:

Candidates must go to the "Flight Training Candidate" section of http://www.flightschoolcandidates.gov and fill out all the required information and pay an online fee of $130.00.

The candidates must then obtain a fingerprint package from T.S.A. (via the Alien Flight Student Fingerprinting Center) and take it to a government fingerprinting agency (like the local police) to be fingerprinted. The fingerprinting cards must be returned to the Alien Flight Student Fingerprinting Center.

Once the Alien Flight Student Fingerprinting Center notifies the flight training provider that the fingerprints are received, the provider must photograph the candidate and send the photo to T.S.A.

Once the photo has been sent, the provider can begin training unless/until T.S.A. prohibits or puts a stop to training.