Hoping this is the right section to post, and hoping even more that someone out there could offer some suggestions. I will keep the State I'm having issues with silent for now, so let me try to state the facts as simply as possible:
1.I have been practicing for over 40 years and have obtained reciprocal licenses through NCARB in over 15 states with never a problem
2. My original license was obtained in New York, which had a requirement at least at the time of my taking the exam, of a least 3 years of working experience before you were allowed to take the professional exam.
3. I applied for a reciprocal license back in September. After 2 months and calling to inquire about status, I was informed via phone that my application was rejected. The apparent reason for rejection was that I did not comply with their specific state requirement of having 3 years of working experience before getting licensed. Apparently, the NCARB record forwarded to the state did not show verified experience going back that far. I made a call to the executive director of the state board of architects and explained that specifically in NY, in order to even sit for the exam, the 3 years experience was a requirement. It fell on deaf ears, and I'm sorry to say it at least felt like I was dealing with a very unsympathetic, uncaring person who just wanted to move on to the next case. I was basically told the review committee made a decision and that was it. Why no one called me to even question this before a decision was made is beyond me. My options as explained to me was to ask for a hearing, I believe they said it would be with the State Attorney's office, they were unsure if I would have to fly in for the hearing, and I might need an attorney. Furthermore, this could take months. Alternately, I could just resubmit my application with any supplemental information but with no guarantees.
4. I did some more digging of really old buried files and found three things. My original NCARB application which showed the employment including the 3 years of experience in question. I also found my original NY license application along with a signed letter from the architect I worked for confirming that employment which was sent to the State at the time to verify my employment from that time. All these documents were scanned and also sent to the state I was seeking reciprocal licensing from. They have yet to respond but I am not hopeful since they already said the "decision was made".
5. At the same time I contacted NCARB and in speaking with their Customer Relations department, quite frankly they were surprised at the action taken. They are trying to communicate with the State offices, but no luck so far.
6. I also contacted my local NJ AIA board who referred me to the state board. Nothing yet, but hoping they can help.
With all that, as a very small business, we have been basically shut down for over a year for obvious reasons. I finally have the opportunity to pick up a small project and it now looks like because of some bureaucratic bs, I will have to pass. I truly don't believe I am asking for any favors, just some common sense which seems to lacking in this instance. Open to anyone offering some guidance.
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Larry Goldberg AIA
president
lg+a architects, pc
Matawan NJ
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