Licencia Federal de Conductor (LFC) to US CDL?

OK, there is a reciprocity agreement between the US, Canada and MX over CDL licenses and operating within the US. I have an applicant with a Licencia Federal de Conductor (LFC) "B" (equivalent to US CDL-A), a regular driver's license from MN, a Social Security Card and is legal to work in the US. The company is not willing to work with him because "he moved here, therefore he needs a CDL in his state of residence. Tell him to go to the DMV and get a CDL."

Um, OK. We'll get on that.

Nowhere can I find the answer: Can he transfer his LFC to a CDL, or will he require ELDT and skills testing?

 

Because he got his LFC-B in MX and later moved to MN where they allowed him to take and pass the test for a US Driver's License. This is actually a unique situation, as usually the LFC holder resides in MX, he just happened to score a green card along the way and has been hauling grain for farmers for the past 3 years.

I posted the question here after sitting on hold for over an hour with the DMV to see if they knew. They obviously weren't interested in doing their jobs in St Paul yesterday. I'll hit them up again this morning, but in person this time at the local testing center.

 

For future reference, straight from the testing center:

If the LFC-B holder takes the written and road test in MN for a regular class D license and produces a valid LFC-B and medical card, he can be issued a CDL-A with equivalent endorsements. If he gets a regular class D license, he has one year to produce a med card and his LFC-B to the DMV to convert to a CDL-A.

 

We would let him, but we have no provisions to run his MVR in Mexico, therefore we have nothing to qualify him for insurance purposes. If he lived in Mexico, however, it wouldn't be a problem (other than the legality of employing him in the US). 3 different farms have let him drive on his LFC-B thus far, but we're a bit more stringent on our hiring criteria. I'd love to give the guy a chance; anyone coming legally to this country should be afforded every opportunity to realize the American Dream through their own efforts.