Update on negotiations between
US and EU on inter-recognition
Progress is not good I'm afraid. Currently the best option
if you need a US license is to try and find a way to quickly
take the ARE (Architect Registration Examination) and get
that side of it out of the way.... Even if a deal is brokered
many states will still insist on the ARE or will want to see
hard evidence of something very similar. The problem is that
the EU negotiates with a simple aim: license for license reciprocity
and NCARB itself understands the value of this approach, and
all but one of its 55 member boards have now endorsed this
approach... However, many US states and practitioners do not
know enough about the EU system to be able to reach an informed
judgment. Some have expressed such groundless worries as "What
about those French who just get licensed after 5 years at
university?" or "I heard that Spain and Greece are
the worst... " or "you Brits get licensed via the
old-boy network don't you?" etc etc. Generally however,
the UK, Ireland and Austria are regarded as having the highest
standards. We intend to get stronger in the US and to encourage
RIBA to focus much more on the value of a license and the
central importance of NCARB "Blue Cover" than it
has hitherto been prepared to do... Prognosis is that after
an agreement in 2006 to work on putting together a Mutual
Recognition Accord, not much of any consequence has followed
and no new program of meetings or negotiations has been scheduled.
Getting licensed by experience and a UK license, is one option.
One other option is to obtain a license in either NY or New
Mexico, where they still consider broadly experienced architects
from other licensing jurisdictions (including the UK) on their
merits. In NY this requires the payment of a $555 fee plus
proof of having been licensed by a credible licensing body,
plus three letters from licensed architects to attest to the
applicant being a Principal of his or her own practice for
at least ten years, so by implication this is only open (in
NY at least) to principals of at least ten years standing.
Then, if approved, the applicant is allowed to sit before
the New York Board evaluation panel and present three projects
(done as a principal) in terms that demonstrate competency
to practice in NY. However, don't even think of attempting
this route unless you were licensed in the domains in which
the projects were undertaken... otherwise the Principal title
cannot be used in any legal sense of being the architect in
primary charge. We don't know what NM will ask for but you
have to enquire to these boards as an individual to see how
they react... These two boards are even acknowledged by NCARB
as the only ones that allow people like us to get licensed
without taking the ARE. Or there is Colorado, where a UK license
may be accepted for direct entry to the state's own take-away
exam.
Taking the US Registration Exams (ARE)
However, having in some instances taken the ARE in a tight
three week period (using all the Kaplan guidance material
to prepare for it) our feedback is that its not that bad and
perfectly passable. You just have to make sure you know the
Project Manual Chapter and verse ("Documents and Services")
and have practiced all the Graphics sections using the practice
tests that NCARB allows you to download from its website...
practice these over and over again... the marking is automated
and they expect everything to be just perfect for the graphics,
so even though the tasks are simple you can sometimes slip
up on very small issues. Norman Dorf, who wrote "Solutions"
the definitive and essential guide to passing the graphic
sections tells us that the 5hr Building design exam can be
failed if you leave a door out on the 1 hour office planning
vignette, even though you may have a first class passing solution
for the 4 hour schematic design problem.
Horrible isn't it!!
Check the RIBA-USA website
Before posing RIBA-USA and its chapters too many open questions,
please check the details posted on our website... www.riba-usa.org.
You will find all the relevant links there. Main thing is
to get a work visa from the US embassy, for which the offer
of a job is very important. To secure a job, we suggest you
should get your work posted on a website for would-be employers
to view then send a small CV file with general info together
with a brief letter of application to whomever you feel may
be an appropriate employer. Emailing large files does not
go down very well and Check the RIBA directory of international
practices and ask AIA for theirs, again using all the links
provided on our website. One very useful link to firms advertising
for staff is http://www.e-architect.com/ Bear in mind that
there is no inter-recognition as yet between the UK and US
and aside from this even if inter-recognition were to be in
place its only the presence of a license that will count in
terms of legally being able to practice (protected in most
US states) and use the title (protected in all US states),
RIBA membership does not currently carry any exemptions or
official recognition in the US either by AIA or by the licensing
Boards, but RIBA itself is very highly regarded and we continue
to promote the UK qualification as the world's best. Again
for details of states’ criteria check the links on our site,
via the NCARB link.
Getting Started in a US Practice
Most firms will accept your UK training as substantial enough
to consider employment but its really difficult to get over
that first hurdle of acceptance. You need to build up a record
of experience in the US as soon as possible then you can market
yourself more widely but the initial step is going to be hard
and will require lots of persistence. To get licensed in the
US you have to follow your state Board's requirements, which
increasingly are asking people to do three years of what's
called an Intern Development Program (like our year out) and
the Americans apply this principle to all professions not
just architects. You also have to have your education evaluated
and certified by an approved US validation body. The most
that this will lead to is permission to take the US architect
registration exam, which is the thing we continue to argue
with NCARB and the Boards about because its pretty much what
we take in Parts 1 and 2, but distilled down to nine separate
multiple choice exams, six on technical topics three being
graphic tests involving set-piece problem-solving. It sounds
onerous but our advantage is that we are perfectly well enough
trained to deal with the basic ARE agenda, we just need to
read up and get experience on the more American aspects of
its essentially simplistic and mostly technical papers. Check
the NCARB website for more details.
Be persistent – we are the best.
We don't want to put you off, so please take the above as
a deep dive into the world that you must quickly come to terms
with when moving into the US practice scene. Progress on inter-recognition
with the EU is tainted by lots of misunderstandings and by
the US insistence that any deal should be with the whole of
the EU rather than just the UK, otherwise the UK would be
easy to approve as mostly exempt from licensing requirements
(which until 1990 we were - in a deal started in 1972, but
abruptly ended by NCARB due to lack of candidates and the
high cost of running this special entry procedure for us).
Good luck, do be persistent and if that fails, be persistent
again... the US system is generally well disposed to the UK.
Please also keep us posted and please share any ideas or feedback
about how we might be even more effective in supporting individuals
such as you in future.
Additional Notes about getting visas
To help you identify suitable firms or individuals to work
with, you can obtain details of all RIBA members' firms at
your preferred US location(s) using the RIBA International
directory. We suggest also that you put your work on a website
if you haven't already, so that you can then correspond with
potential employers in the US quickly using email and refer
to the website. Americans like to be entertained. We also
suggest you check out the AIA website for details of positions,
and perhaps check the AIA directory of practices and architects
in the geographical area(s) you want to work in. To find these
use the links on their website and pretend you are a client
seeking an architect.
Green card is extremely hard work to get these days... A UK
friend is a headhunted Professor at a major US University
and is only just beginning the long grind to get a green card
after more than a year, and he has all the legal resources
of his university behind him. Usually you get an H1b visa
specific to the firm you are working with. Most firms are
used to supporting such a visa, which can later be used as
a basis to apply for a green card. However, you have to be
in a specific category that the US considers a priority in
order to qualify for a green card. Special abilities or recognition
marked by an international prize of some substance are just
two categories - an immigration lawyer (cost at least $2000)
will tell you much more. The easy way is to marry an American,
then you get a green card, followed by citizenship after three
years, but that may be too drastic. One step at a time my
mother always said....
Lastly you could make contact with US firms working in the
UK or EU and try and obtain a position via them in the US
through an internal transfer.
As an architect we are sure you must have tons of other ideas
to contribute to this section... Please share them with us...
we need all the feedback we can get in order to assist people
like you. Are you UK or EU licensed? If not, you should always
and ultimately consider getting a license. This is both your
duty as a responsible practitioner and a legal necessity inside
the US where both title and practice are regulated by law.
Preparing for the needed examinations etc of whichever state
you wish to practice in is a fundamental basic step... we
hope in the next few months that our efforts to encourage
the EU’s negotiators (currently delegated to the Architect’s
Council of Europe) and the US (NCARB) to Mutually Recognize
licenses will result in some kind of agreement. Meanwhile
those four letters – RIBA - are a distinct means of displaying
your international standing in the profession and will enable
you to join us in the process of systematically advancing
our interests both in the US and in the wider world.
Best wishes
Tim Clark
Presiding Chair, RIBA-USA
Chair RIBA California Chapter
(originally drafted in December 2004 and regularly updated)
