Who has failed or barely passed a security clearance?

[Anonymous]

My dh got nervous during the poly, he was just anxious but they said they couldn't pass him. All the other reams of paperwork we had to do, and financial disclosures checked out. They encouraged him to take the poly again, but with his anxiety issues he decided just to take a position that didn't need a poly, and they offered him a higher GS level as well. So it all worked out.

[Anonymous]

I’m foreign (not a dual citizen) and friends with lots of people who I am sure have high level clearances. What would they have had to report about me, and what kind of investigations would have been done into me?

[Anonymous]

Pardon the ignorance here, but what’s the big deal about having dual citizenship?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pardon the ignorance here, but what’s the big deal about having dual citizenship?

If you have dual citizenship, it means your loyalties are split. They want you to be loyal to the USA.

Also, to the polygraph question: TS//SCI clearances for CIA and NSA require full-scope lifestyle polygraphs. These are the highest clearances offered outside the context of the White House. TS clearances that don't include SCI may or may not require polygraphs and if they do, they probably won't be full-scope lifestyle polygraphs, which are much more invasive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pardon the ignorance here, but what’s the big deal about having dual citizenship?

Your allegiance is to more than one country. If you’re in a position to have access to national secrets, your allegiance should be to the US. It’s similar to the restrictions around foreign bank accounts and owning foreign property. However, there always exceptions to all of those situations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question for you all.

I know a guy who broke up with his russian girlfriend because she wouldn't denounce her russian citizenship on his request. He was afraid he could lose his clearance, not sure if it was top secret or not. She has dual citizenship but didn't want to lose russian one because her parents are getting old and she wants to be able to visit them without issues. They dated for year or so, I thought that was an excuse to break up. Could dating someone with dual citizenship risk someone's clearance? What about being married to someone with dual?

Yes. You have to report any foreign friends. Being married would definitely be a bigger issue.

You say this with such confidence, and yet you are wrong about being married part. I have personal experience with the issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m foreign (not a dual citizen) and friends with lots of people who I am sure have high level clearances. What would they have had to report about me, and what kind of investigations would have been done into me?

Your friends are probably not listing you on their SF-86. They should be and the Government should contact you to discuss your relationship. Since that hasn’t happened with multiple friends, you probably are not being listed. The question about foreign contacts is more than just someone you know. I forget the wording but it used to imply a close relationship or someone that you have affection for (not necessarily romantic).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question for you all.

I know a guy who broke up with his russian girlfriend because she wouldn't denounce her russian citizenship on his request. He was afraid he could lose his clearance, not sure if it was top secret or not. She has dual citizenship but didn't want to lose russian one because her parents are getting old and she wants to be able to visit them without issues. They dated for year or so, I thought that was an excuse to break up. Could dating someone with dual citizenship risk someone's clearance? What about being married to someone with dual?

Yes. You have to report any foreign friends. Being married would definitely be a bigger issue.

You say this with such confidence, and yet you are wrong about being married part. I have personal experience with the issue.

It’s absolutely a risk. Doesn’t mean that everyone loses their clearance or is denied. If you have personal experience with security clearances you would know that there are few black and white rules. Everything can be up for adjudication. Depends on the clearance, the agency, and the investigator.

I have been an FSO. Have you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question for you all.

I know a guy who broke up with his russian girlfriend because she wouldn't denounce her russian citizenship on his request. He was afraid he could lose his clearance, not sure if it was top secret or not. She has dual citizenship but didn't want to lose russian one because her parents are getting old and she wants to be able to visit them without issues. They dated for year or so, I thought that was an excuse to break up. Could dating someone with dual citizenship risk someone's clearance? What about being married to someone with dual?

Yes. You have to report any foreign friends. Being married would definitely be a bigger issue.

You say this with such confidence, and yet you are wrong about being married part. I have personal experience with the issue.

The investigator checked up on my dh's foreign friends from 20 years ago. They seemed to be serious.

[Anonymous]

I have changed my name more than once (once as a kid and once as an adult) and worried that would cause confusion when my birth certificate, college diploma, and married name were all different. That didn’t seem to cause concerns. My agency denied an interim and expressed concern about foreign relatives - Canadian and British. I didn’t see that coming, but the full clearance came through not much longer. I was told it was a surprisingly fast period for the full. (I forget, but think interim was denied 5 or 6 weeks into the investigation and I had full about 8 weeks in)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I help new team members navigate the security process. I have team members who smoked pot within the last year in a state where it is "legal" who get public trust denied.
Team members with bankruptcy denied
Team members who have dual citizenship denied

Individuals with a company bankruptcy - took a really long time to make a decision but eventually got public trust.

Individuals who did a lot of international travel in Eastern European - took a very long time but eventually got public trust.

Individuals who did not register for selective service - denied.
Individual who had decided not to take a breathalyzer and hired a lawyer to get his record cleared - denied.

Wow. Would love to know the agency. the breathalyzer one seems especially questionable — he was penalized for hiring a lawyer basically? Unless there was other evidence of an active alcohol addiction, seems really unjustified

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend who was born in Taiwan, is a naturalized US citizen, and has many Chinese relatives who live on the mainland or who live in the USA and often travel to Taiwan and the PRC. He still has a clearance. This sorta surprises me.

He is a US citizen. He is allowed to travel if he gets permission.

Permission from whom? US citizens don’t need permission to travel.

[Anonymous]

I know someone who lost an AUSA job offer due to being an alcoholic (newly in recovery) and smoking pot in the last year. they told her she wouldn’t get clearance. Apparently the the pot was the bigger issue. This was under Bush II.

another friend recently got State Dept clearance even with very very extensive international travel and foreign relationships.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I help new team members navigate the security process. I have team members who smoked pot within the last year in a state where it is "legal" who get public trust denied.
Team members with bankruptcy denied
Team members who have dual citizenship denied

Individuals with a company bankruptcy - took a really long time to make a decision but eventually got public trust.

Individuals who did a lot of international travel in Eastern European - took a very long time but eventually got public trust.

Individuals who did not register for selective service - denied.
Individual who had decided not to take a breathalyzer and hired a lawyer to get his record cleared - denied.

What level was the dual citizenship denied for?

[Anonymous]

BTW for everyone interested, you can find records of appeals of some clearance decisions here:

http://ogc.osd.mil/doha/industrial/

Worth looking through what issues get raised.