This is NCARB's summary page for New York's regulations.
Ordinarily with a foreign degree (unless it's from Canada) you'd start with NCARB, to have the degree evalutated for equivalency.
New York's page though seems to indicate that an equivalency ruling still will not make you elligible to sit for the exam - that the only possibilities are either a US or Canadian degree or possibly a certan amount of documented experience in lieu of a professional degree.
It seems to indicate that IDP is mandatory.

Try calling New York's board: 518/474-3817 x110 and ask them what the process is and whether it is even possible to pursue registration with a degree from another country.

Thank you for response Ormolu,
I already went thorugh the NCARB website, and my question is - Is NACRB the first (or the only) place to get in contact? or I have to contact somewhere else (like, directly to the state, etc.) too-?

No, I'm not trying to count foreign degree, I have master's degree in US and also a couple of profesisonal experience in US. So that is not my question here, I am wondering if I can skip IDP with the lisence from foreign country.

Try both NCARB and NY... NCARB will probably refer you to the state board, as they have final authority on who gets licensed in their state. Be sure to get the names of the people you speak to - and if you do it over email, at least you will have a paper trail. In my experiences with both the state boards and NCARB, you will often get contradictory or incorrect information, and it is useful to be able to point a finger at the person you spoke with.

Yes, exactly. I'm always annoyed by these contradictory information.

When I talked to NCARB about this foreign lisence thing a couple of years ago, right after finishing my grad school, they told me that I could skip the IDP, but I wanted to make sure by asking other people who actually went through it.

Thank you anyway.

I've never heard of being able to skip IDP because of a foreign degree. Up until about 1998 New York was not a state that required IDP, so perhaps if you started all of this prior to that then the information you were receiving was correct at that time - or perhaps people have told you similar things since that were based on their own (outdated) experiences. I went to architecture school with a lot of people who had previously earned degrees and/or practiced architecture in other countries and subsequently completed IDP in New York - so I'm doubting that you can skip it at this point.

Do you mean "professional lisence" by the word "degree"?

No - sorry, I misunderstood...

But, the situation may stillbe similar because: a few years ago (I think prior to 1998) NY was still accepting EESA evautions of foreign degrees. It seems that they don't do that anymore (and actually I think EESA isn't doing the evalutations anymore anyway and that they're done more directly through NCARB.)
I had a few M.Arch classmates who'd been practicing architects in other countries for years only to find out that in the US they needed at least another year in an M.Arch program. Chances seem to be better for those from western Europe than from India, Argentina, Russia...

I definately think you need to get a live person on the phone in the office of the New York board. I'd start with New York and not NCARB, because NCARB tends to oversimplify/under-report the intricacies of each state's own rules.

Do you know where I can find the "New York board"?
I found "Office of the Professions" of New York State Education Department : http://www.op.nysed.gov/arch.htm But I'm not sure if this is the right one to ask questions.
Here the problem is, it's so unclear whom to ask questions... It tends to happen that different people from different source tell me different things.

I wish I had someone who went through this situation...

Thanks for your help.

Yes, that's the correct address for New York's licensing entity (sorry for confusing you - some states call this the "Registration Board", some have it as part of a Consumer Protection division, etc., New York has it grouped with their state's Education offices...)

The phone number is: 518/474-3817 x110
This is supposedly where you should be able to get hold of someone who can answer these questions.

Make sure you lead with the facts: US M.Arch, foreign license, no IDP yet...

Thank you so much for your help. I hope this is not too much hassle...

my case is similar. I am a licensed architect in Europe and have US master. they told me (new york board) I need to file for IDP. does anybody know how long does it take? I have 3 y US + 3y Europe experience.

For IDP you need a total of about 3 years of experience. It can take longer than 3 years to acquire because it needs to be distributed in a variety of different tasks. For a work experience to count it must be either fulltime (no less than 35 hours per week) for a minimum of 10 continuous weeks, or half-time (no less than 20 hours per week) for a minimum of 6 months continuously. Most work must be directly supervised by a registered architect, though a small amount can in some cases be in an engineering firm or construction firm. Teaching fulltime in an accredited architecture program can also earn a certain number of IDP units.

There is a limit to how much experience from an architecture firm in another country can be counted toward IDP. Usually it is about a year's worth of IDP units. (If the foreign firm had an in-house US-registered architect who supervised and will sign off on your work then there's no limit to how many IDP units you can count from that job.)

Keep in mind that once you start your IDP record and send all your completed employment records, transcripts, etc. there is still generally a wait of several months before you can start taking the A.R.E.
It takes about 6 weeks for NCARB to alert you that your record is finished, then another approximate 6 weeks ("30 business days") from when you request transmittal to your state until it is actually transmitted, and then usually a wait while the state approves you (this depends on the state.) Then you can start scheduling the testing.

Is this "about 3 years" after starting IDP?
Or can I count the years of experience before registering IDP?

In most states you can count work experience that you did prior to registering for IDP - as long as it meets the minimum durations and hours per week, and as long as it happened AFTER your first year of an accredited M.Arch program or after the 3rd year of a 5-year B.Arch or after the 3rd year of a 4-year non-professional architecture major.

There are a few states in which you can't retroactively report much experience. Ohio, for instance, will only let you retroactively count 6 months of experience - so if you're in Ohio you should register for IDP as soon as you're allowed, and report experience faithfully every few months! (There's an exception for people who are newly arrived in Ohio. They're allowed a year or two of retroactive reporting I think.)