Phillip LaBerge wrote:
Hi everyone!
Any idea how a French pilot with U.S. licenses (paper) goes about
replacing them with the new plastic licenses..........without having
to come to the USA?

The paper certificate expires end of this month.
For FAA certificates that are straight-forward, an application for a
plastic update can be made on line for a $2 fee.

If your license is non-standard however, it's more difficult.
In my case, I had an private on the basis of a UK private.
That's not eligible for online processing.
Some glider pilots have reported difficulty too.

In my case, the process needs a verification form from the CAA to the
FAA - for which the CAA wants payment in advance, then a face interview
at an FAA FSDO office.

Expecting two civil aviation bureaucracies to perform smoothly and
swiftly is unrealistic, so I am doing plan two presently, which goes
like this:

To get a FREE STANDING FAA certificate:
1) Prepare for the private written. (Sportys.com is helpful here.)
2) Find an instructor or examiner willing to sign a ready for test note.
3) Take the private written. 70% to pass. Cost me $150 to take it on
line to the FAA
4) Fly the flight eval hours (3 hours) and pass the oral.

5) Then the examiner can make the usual channel work.

This was for a private ASL - your mileage may vary

Brian W