If you're directly supervised (on-site) by a US-registered architect then there's no limit to how many of your IDP units can be earned in a firm outside the US.
There's also no limit to how many units you can earn in a Canadian firm if you're supervised by a Canada-registered architect.
If you're not supervised by a US (or Canadian) architect then 235 units is the limit that you can earn in a foreign firm. That's a little under 1 year of units, assuming 40-hour work weeks.
I worked in Shanghai under a US licensed architect but for a Chinese architect. My paperwork took an unusually long time. I called NCARB about this and they said because they wanted to verify the Chinese firm and their projects before hand.
It wasn't too much of a hassle but, fair warning, it may take slightly longer than expected.
elvis, i think paperwork through NCARB takes an unusually long time almost all the time... i don't understand why it takes so long to process the time! I understand there must be a ton of these forms to process, but seriously, wtf? i was hoping i'd be able to start testing in wisconsin before the new year, unfortunately they've been processing my stuff for over 2 months now, argh!
i realize i can take the test regardess, by filing a seperate record of hours with wisonsin, but as you mentioned, the slightest bit of "unusual circumstances" will probably keep my paperwork on the backburner till the war in iraq is over...
no wait, make that over 3 months! it's freakin' feb!
From the time I submitted my last IDP form until I got confirmation that my IDP was complete took about 4 months. If they do ask for clarification on anything, or disallow any of your units, you can expect it to take another 3 to 4 months for them to review anything else that you submit.
After that it takes 30 business days (about 5 weeks) for NCARB to transmit your record to your state - although there are about 15 states that are "direct registration" states, meaning your test results come directly from NCARB to you and the states don't get involved until you're finished testing completely. In those 15 states the transmittal happens at the end of the process instead of before testing. In the other 35 states it takes a few more weeks or so after transmittal for the state to authorize you to test.
Each test result takes from 2 to 8 weeks on average - and sometimes longer - to reach you. Then once you pass all the tests and apply to your state for a license it can take anywhere from a few days to several months to get approved, depending on your state's procedures. My state only approves people at board meetings, and those only happen 5 times per year.
Then, once you're licensed, if you decide to apply for NCARB certification it takes 6 to 8 months on average to get certified.
I'm in Shanghai now, trying to get my hours verified...is it better to get a signature from a person who is AIA registered, with US arch license that is expired, or from someone who is a certified Chinese planner? It's looking like those are my 2 options.
Jun 15, 09 1:49 am ·
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IDP from beyond the moon
Can one collect IDP points if they are working in another country?
if you are working with an architect that's licensed in the states, i'm fairly certain the answer is yes.
If you're directly supervised (on-site) by a US-registered architect then there's no limit to how many of your IDP units can be earned in a firm outside the US.
There's also no limit to how many units you can earn in a Canadian firm if you're supervised by a Canada-registered architect.
If you're not supervised by a US (or Canadian) architect then 235 units is the limit that you can earn in a foreign firm. That's a little under 1 year of units, assuming 40-hour work weeks.
I worked in Shanghai under a US licensed architect but for a Chinese architect. My paperwork took an unusually long time. I called NCARB about this and they said because they wanted to verify the Chinese firm and their projects before hand.
It wasn't too much of a hassle but, fair warning, it may take slightly longer than expected.
i dont know but i just listned to dark side of the moon!
elvis, i think paperwork through NCARB takes an unusually long time almost all the time... i don't understand why it takes so long to process the time! I understand there must be a ton of these forms to process, but seriously, wtf? i was hoping i'd be able to start testing in wisconsin before the new year, unfortunately they've been processing my stuff for over 2 months now, argh!
i realize i can take the test regardess, by filing a seperate record of hours with wisonsin, but as you mentioned, the slightest bit of "unusual circumstances" will probably keep my paperwork on the backburner till the war in iraq is over...
no wait, make that over 3 months! it's freakin' feb!
go bears!
Typical wait times to be prepared for:
From the time I submitted my last IDP form until I got confirmation that my IDP was complete took about 4 months. If they do ask for clarification on anything, or disallow any of your units, you can expect it to take another 3 to 4 months for them to review anything else that you submit.
After that it takes 30 business days (about 5 weeks) for NCARB to transmit your record to your state - although there are about 15 states that are "direct registration" states, meaning your test results come directly from NCARB to you and the states don't get involved until you're finished testing completely. In those 15 states the transmittal happens at the end of the process instead of before testing. In the other 35 states it takes a few more weeks or so after transmittal for the state to authorize you to test.
Each test result takes from 2 to 8 weeks on average - and sometimes longer - to reach you. Then once you pass all the tests and apply to your state for a license it can take anywhere from a few days to several months to get approved, depending on your state's procedures. My state only approves people at board meetings, and those only happen 5 times per year.
Then, once you're licensed, if you decide to apply for NCARB certification it takes 6 to 8 months on average to get certified.
Postal, it took about 6.5 months for them to process my Shanghai work. That is about double the time it takes to process 'normal' forms.
Slackers, I tell you. Just slackers.
I'm in Shanghai now, trying to get my hours verified...is it better to get a signature from a person who is AIA registered, with US arch license that is expired, or from someone who is a certified Chinese planner? It's looking like those are my 2 options.
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