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)