How much longer

@Jeff Jeffcoat
You may think the process is “ridiculous”, but especially since the Germanwings accident, aviation authorities are going to be very careful about allowing people with histories of depression or the use of anti-depressants (even without a diagnosis of clinical depression) to get in the cockpit.  The increasing tendency of physician to prescribe psychoactive meds over the last 30-some years has increased the number of applicants with histories of those meds.  At the same time, budgetary constraints have limited the number of people the FAA has to review these applications.  The result is a very long backlog.

Contributing to this problem is the lack of knowledge about the process among those applicants.  They often start the application without a clue of the obstacles created by a history of SSRI use and do not provide all the information the FAA will want to evaluate and approve the application.  The result is a long series of back-and-forth involving letters from the FAA requesting more information, inadequate responses, and then another FAA request.  Since the FAA is so buried in these applications, it is usually months between submission and reply.

This could all be sped up if flight trainers would sit down with folks starting training and explain the medical process, including advising them of the list of “show-stoppers”.  The trainee should be advised that if they have anything on that list in their medical history, they should obtain competent advice from a source like AOPA's Medical Help desk on how to proceed, and whether or not success is likely.  That way their initial application will contain everything the FAA is going to want, and there's no series of long delays while the FAA looks at the latest input and then asks for more information.

Jeff, didn't you get a request from the FAA for additional info after disclosing you SSRI use to you AME? Like an interview with a Aviation Psychiatrist, last two years of medications from you pharmacist , etc etc. I am told your file only goes to Washington IF you are still on the SSRI. I was once on SSRI due to spouse being diagnosed with Cystic fibrosis and was a chance of losing her thus me having to raise our children alone. Please enlighten.

PS I am still waiting for my Class two medical after the FAA has received all they requested including the psychiatrists report since Sept 7. 2022. The original assessment was done in May of 2022 so that's eight months, anyone who seems to think there is a certain timeline is blowing smoke,