-
#1 Chicago, four years at Emirates, business grade, and I get a message a week from Americans who have read the salary threads and want to know if it works for us specifically. Most of the forum is written from a UK or European angle and some of it does not translate. Here is the American version.
Hiring
Emirates holds open days in US cities a few times a year (I did Chicago, they also do LA, Houston, New York, Miami and others). The process is the same as everywhere: open day, cuts, final interview, wait. Americans are not rare in the operation but we are not a large group either. Your customer service story is what matters and Americans who worked in restaurants tend to do well in the interviews because tipping culture teaches you to read people fast.
Visa and paperwork
The company sponsors your residence visa. You do nothing except provide documents. The American specific pain: you need an apostilled degree or diploma if you have one, a police clearance from the FBI (not just your state, and it takes weeks, start it before the call), and a medical from a US doctor before you fly out. Get the FBI check started the day you pass the final interview.
Tax
This is the one nobody warns you about. The US taxes citizens on worldwide income. Your Emirates salary is tax free in the UAE. It is not automatically tax free for the IRS. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion lets you exclude a large chunk of it (over $120,000 in recent years) if you meet the physical presence or bona fide residence test, which as crew living in Dubai you will. But you have to file, every year, and claim it. If you do not file, it is a problem later. Get an accountant who does expat returns for the first year, then copy what they did. Also FBAR if your foreign bank accounts total over $10,000, which they will.
Health insurance
Emirates provides it in the UAE and it is good. It does not cover you in the US on leave beyond emergencies in most plans, so check before you go home for a month.
Student loans
Federal loans do not pause because you left. Income driven repayment calculations get weird with excluded foreign income, sometimes in your favour. Talk to someone who knows this before you leave, not after.
Culture shock for Americans specifically
The hierarchy on the aircraft is more formal than a US airline. Pursers are addressed as pursers. The grooming standard is enforced in a way American carriers have mostly stopped doing. The accommodation rules (no unregistered overnight guests, curfew style rules for the first months) feel like college to a 28 year old. Some Americans find it stifling. Some find it a relief. Know which you are.
Flying home
Staff travel to the US is good and the US routes are long, so you will see a lot of Chicago, JFK, LAX, Houston, Dallas, Seattle, Boston, Orlando. It is realistic to be home for a night once a month if you bid for it. It is not realistic to be home for every holiday.
Would I do it again
Yes. I make and save more than I did at a US regional. I have been to 50 countries. My tax return is a nightmare. Two of those three things will be true for you too.
-
#2 Also American, also Emirates, and the tax paragraph should be pinned. I did not file year one because someone told me it was tax free and it took two years to fix. FEIE, file every year, FBAR. Say it three times.
-
#3 Miami based US carrier and I did the Emirates open day in Miami before I got my current job. Everything Joe says about the interview matches. The restaurant thing is real, they lit up when I talked about a Friday night double shift.
-
#4 United, and reading this as someone who has wondered about the Gulf for years. The health insurance on leave point is something I had never considered. Thank you for the honest version.
-
#6 Adding for Americans: the FBI clearance can take six to ten weeks by mail, faster through an approved channeler. Do the channeler. I waited nine weeks and nearly missed my joining date.
-
#7 Alaska, Seattle, seven years, and I will never do it, but I appreciate this thread because I get asked by younger crew all the time and now I can send them here instead of guessing.
-
#8 Delta JFK, year 3 reserve, and the 'seniority reset' is the reason I would consider it. Being at the bottom of a list you chose is different from being at the bottom of a list you are stuck on.
