Broker License in Virginia

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Looking for some guidance on a tough one I'm in.

I've been a Virginia real estate agent since 2017. I've had a great rapport with my broker - he's been a solid guy and a good teacher. The brokerage has two entities:  one for conventional full-time agents; the other for referral agents. Having a license under either entity allows one to maintain an active license.

My license has been under the referral entity as I have a separate W2 and having the license under a referral entity has allowed me to maintain my license at a low cost. I have been actively engaged (important distinction!) and have produced a large number of referrals.

Recently, I've been interested in becoming a full broker with a focus on investment properties and property management (I own and self-manage 12 properties). I took the courses, passed my exam on the first try and approached my broker about signing my experience verification form required for a Virginia broker application. He said, "Absolutely not. I would only do this if you switched to full time agent and gave it another 3 years under the other entity." If anyone knows the story of Laban and Jacob in the Bible (Genesis), this lands pretty close to it.

I respect my broker's right to his opinion, but this does feel slightly coercive and has halted my career plans. I'm at his mercy. I've made an appeal to the regulatory department in Virginia that oversees agent/broker licensing (DPOR), but they will only defer to the decision of the broker.

Any suggestions on how to move forward here? Any Virginia brokers out there willing to take on a good, ethical guy short term in order to sign off on my experience verification. Happy to discuss further directly or give further detail. Thanks! - Jonny