Dear Bafanguy,
Thanks for the feedback. I already have an FAA ATP and written exam done too...I'm still impressed with how the FAA counts hours like a simulated instrument, active instrument, etc.
I just asked the examiner if you were writing down actual IMC and simulated IMC during a sector from A to B; he started laughing and said that this part of the FAA rules a big secret and just the FAA knows what's going on.
In 2017 a pilot tried to go through a petition, but the FAA meant it would be unsafe to let a well-experienced pilot fly a plane in the US even if this pilot flowed a hundred times to the US. So as you said, the FAA will not deviate from its safety attitude.