Exactly, getting on for one year (with pretty much no "home leave") to get a licence, when , FFS , you already have one, is ,perhaps , asking. . .just a little too much.
With EASA recognition I would actually be tempted for a few years. As it stands, well , "stop pulling my plonker" is my response, and that of many others.
The solution , at least the "practical" side, is very easy indeed. Fix the bureaucracy & pay the Bucks, simple.