I think thats what I said socal.
Reading the forms, it looks like the FAA want you to contact the CAA first,
You have totally missed my point with respect to UK applicants. The CAA form states
Applicants for licence verification must contact the Authority/Company/Airline to whom the verification is to be made. The Authority/
Company/Airline must ensure a request is submitted to the UK CAA. Please note licence verification cannot be completed without this request
but the FAA wont deal with a UK applicant until they have the CAA verification.