Stuck in "Final Review" for Class 3

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Holdingshortforever

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Been stuck in the Class 3 medical pipeline for a while, waiting on a decision from the FAA. The FAA asked for a board-certified psychiatric evaluation (non-SSRI case), and I got an eval from a highly recommended HIMS psychiatrist and sent it in to the FAA two months ago. The HIMS psychiatrist seemed to think my case was a nothingburger and recommended a full (non-SI) medical certificate, but I know the FAA can and will do whatever it pleases. On MedXpress, it's been stuck in "Final Review" for over a month and a half, and I have been calling every other day to make sure I get the coveted "interested airman" status.

Anything I can do here apart from just playing the waiting game and calling every other day? Does anyone have an idea as to how long the backlog is to adjust my expectations accordingly?

Many thanks!
 
You can contact your House rep and ask them to open an inquiry on your behalf.
Your rep's .gov website will likely have a "Help with a Federal Agency" page and a form for you to fill out.

Basically: Raise hell!

Edit: A couple things to add...

When you call OKC, make sure to include the phrase "express interest". Those are the magic words. I wish I was kidding, it sounds stupid but apparently that's the keyword they're looking for to put you in the "interested airman" category. Use this specific phrase every time you call OKC.

Also, I've had better luck with the Regional office. They can be reached here:

The Regional office will give you a much more detailed understanding of where your medical is compared to OKC. They're much more helpful.
 
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A month and a half? The congressional inquiriy will be answered with "In appropriate sequence".It's at six months where the congressional works.
Your AME can call for a disposition if the HIMS pscyhiatrist is supportive...ask your AME to call.
 
I was in final review for much longer than that. A call to my regional flight surgeon revealed that the flight surgeon responsible for the final review had not even opened my file yet!

You might try calling your regional flight surgeon. In my experience they're much more helpful than the DJW folks you get if you call the AMCD.
 
bbchien said:
A month and a half? The congressional inquiriy will be answered with "In appropriate sequence".It's at six months where the congressional works.
Your AME can call for a disposition if the HIMS pscyhiatrist is supportive...ask your AME to call.
Click to expand...
you mean a congressman or senator calling doesnt help until it’s been in okc for six months?
 
bbchien said:
A month and a half? The congressional inquiriy will be answered with "In appropriate sequence".It's at six months where the congressional works.
Your AME can call for a disposition if the HIMS pscyhiatrist is supportive...ask your AME to call.
Click to expand...
Dr. Chien - can you please explain further what you mean when you say the AME can call if the HIMS psychiatrist is supportive? I don’t think I’ve heard this before. Is this true if the case is with the Federal Air Surgeon in DC?
 
@laserranger can you elaborate more on what you mean by saying "express interest" when you call them? Also I have never heard of the interested airman status, can you tell me more about this?
 
Many thanks to all who replied - an update:

It's still (infuriatingly) stuck in "Final Review" on MedXpress. I have been calling both OKC/CAMI and my Regional Flight Surgeon regularly to "express interest" and they thank me for my call and are able to share nothing in the way of an update. When I do get a rep who is willing to chat more than the others, I'm getting conflicting advice. One kind representative I spoke with told me they prioritize older medical exams that are still pending, which would fit my category, and recommended to keep calling and mentioning that I need my Class 3 to pursue flight training in the hopes that it would get acted upon more quickly. (Which I of course did). Another kind representative informed me that there was no rhyme or reason to the order FAA physicians reviewed things and that it was pointless to call once a week since the FAA decided not to expedite *anyone* anymore as a result of everyone waiting on a medical calling trying to get the coveted interested airman status. This second representative told me that my application was in a "smaller" pile of 3,700 for the staff physician in OKC to review, as opposed to a "larger" pile of 22,000 that haven't even made it that far. (Which means it hasn't even made it to the Federal Air Surgeon in DC yet). I called AOPA Pilot Protection Services, and they told me there's pretty much nothing I can do except wait. My AME is on long-term vacation so hasn't been able to call. Is there anything else I can possibly do here other than call my Senator's office?
 
Michael T. Runyan said:
Dr. Chien - can you please explain further what you mean when you say the AME can call if the HIMS psychiatrist is supportive? I don’t think I’ve heard this before. Is this true if the case is with the Federal Air Surgeon in DC?
Click to expand...
It means if the evaluation sez you don't need monitoring or a speical issuance, ANY meidcal oficer can deal with that, prompted by the AME of record.

And to "WellKnow": if under six months they just reply, "Proper procedure is being followed".
 
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