Immigration and professions requiring equivalency examinations for licensure

[MelOe 187]

Hi all!

I'm currently in ROC and on expired greencard with 4 year extension letter. I'm a german veterinarian, and have spent the last couple of years going through the ECFVG equivalency examination process to prove that my education is up to par for here, while working as a vet tech in the meantime. I completed the process in December and immediately applied for state licensure to obtain my veterinary license at long last. Now the Georgia State board of Licensing has decided that in spite of meeting all other requirements they can't license me because my german vet school transcripts don't contain the phrases "master degree in veterinary medicine" or doctor of veterinary medicine". They seem to fully understand that if I hadn't graduated from an accepted college I would never have been allowed to go through the ECFVG process established for the very purpose to weed out ineligible candidates, and they also seem to understand that every country has different titles for my profession, but because in their board rules it says a doctor or master degree is necessary they won't budge. I'm now supposed to apply for variance or suspension of the rule and hope for the best in a full board review next month.

 

I'm interested to know if other immigrants in professions requiring licensure have experienced similar difficulties, and how they were able to solve them. I'm trying to figure out what documents I could submit to hopefully help my cause. I have reached out to my german university in hopes they will write me a letter of support, and I've found lists with the different veterinary titles around the world. I also have documents from previous jobs around Europe in which I'm variably adressed as Dr. or have a DMV behind my name. But I'm not sure if it would be advantageous to overload them with such evidence, since I don't know if they will have the patience to go through them or if I would just make them mad. Any opinions or experiences with US professional licensing boards?

[Verrou 1,962]

do you have any response from ur university? i was wondering if they can write affidavit letter stated that your degree is equivalent to master degree or doctor in Vet. i have similar case but totally different issue with LSAC ( LSAT operator) here in the US. LSAC refused and just ignored me unless i provide what they think its the only correct one.

Edited April 12 by Verrou

[Redro 4,611]

Are you showing them your actual degrees and transcripts or Have you got your transcripts  “translated” with a service like World Education Services? It shows what the equivalent degree is in the U.S. 

For example, I got a 3 year degree with an optional year in SA. That optional year is coded as graduate school not undergraduate by WES (even though it’s undergraduate in my home country). This might be the solution you are looking for… 

[MelOe 187]

Thank you for your responses!

 

I wasn't allowed to submit the transcript myself, it had to be submitted directly by my university without me ever touching it. Because I knew that I would be working abroad after graduation, my original transcript on file at the university is actually in English already. My university gave us the choice to issue it in German or English, and I figured English would be easier.

But yes, the certified translations can sometimes work in our favor. Knowing what I know now I should have just gotten a German transcript and gotten it translated by a certified translator for the country in question each time I moved. Would have spared me a lot of headache even while I was in Europe (For example I once had a Spanish licensing authority doubt my transcript was real, because documents from Germany can't possibly be written in English apparently). Not sure it would have helped in this case though, as the licensing agency told me outright they only consider English language documents submitted to them. They might have just ignored a German language transcript sent by my university outright.

 

No, I haven't heard back from my university yet as I only wrote them Friday after I found out. I'm hoping to get a reply by Monday since time is of the essence, but we will see. I really hope that they will be so kind to support me in this. I'm looking for a quick translation service to use to translate any letter of support my university might seem fit to send me. I'm gonna look up the World Education Services you mentioned to see if they might be an option, thank you for that!

[TBoneTX 45,567]

Good luck, and post again here so that others might learn.

[MelOe 187]

@Redro I just looked up World Education Services, sadly it doesn't apply in my case. There is an established procedure for my profession (ECFVG by the AVMA) that has to be completed by any graduates from non AVMA licensed schools. I did complete that procedure, proving my equivalent level of education, and the AVMA submitted a letter of completion to the State Board. This was received, and they have confirmed to me that they have it and understand it means my education is sufficient. They really are just hung up on the wording in their own board rules, which is why I'm so scared that they might just leave me hanging for no reason.

[Redro 4,611]

@MelOe URGH im so sorry my suggestion isn’t a fix. I had an issue with my degree in an other country where they were hung up on wording so I know the frustration. Will check to see if I can find another method. But hopefully someone smart reviews your case and allows you to practice. I know vets are really needed here in the States so you would think they would be bending over backwards to get you practicing. 

[TBoneTX 45,567]

2 hours ago, MelOe said:

They really are just hung up on the wording in their own board rules

Escalate it within the organization until you find a pooh-bah or a committee willing and able to except the rule.

[MelOe 187]

Hi all, as promised here is an update on my situation, and I'll include the "technical details" at the end to help other people in my situation find this post and get the information, since I now know I'm not the only one this is happening to.

 

In short, after delaying the review of my waiver for another month and a half the veterinary board finally discussed it and approved the waiver, and I have now received my license and can practice veterinary medicine in the state of Georgia. Here is what I have found out about what is going on:

 

State law in Georgia requires that veterinarians either have graduated from an AVMA accredited veterinary school OR have completed a process to prove equivalency (ECFVG or PAVE) in order to be eligible for licensure. Based on the law the Georgia State Board of Veterinary Medicine has made board rules that govern licensure. The applicable rule (BR 700-2-.02(2)(b) is worded awkwardly. The wording basically states that any graduates from veterinary schools abroad need to have graduated with the title "Doctor of Veterinary Medicine" AND have completed a process of equivalency. This rule trips up people like me, who graduated from a non accredited university and did the ECFVG but don't have the *right* title awarded by their foreign university, as well as graduates from AVMA accredited universities located outside the US, who shouldn't need to prove equivalency but according to this board rule they do need to complete either EVFVG or PAVE.

The board is aware of the wording issue of their rule, but they seem to be under the impression that "the legislature" needs to change it. Until that happens they say that everyone who gets tripped up by the wording needs to apply for a rule waiver of BR 700-2-.02(2)(b) and prove hardship if they don't get licensed. The board then rules on waiving the rule to get them licensed.

[TBoneTX 45,567]

10 hours ago, MelOe said:

as promised here is an update

Thanks for returning with your good news!  Your update will certainly be valuable to others.

 

It really might be worth contacting your State representative or senator to get this resolved.  It's a small and rather arcane matter, but once it's handled, the way for others is clear.  If you decide to do this, let us know the outcome.