They come to your home so they are less likely to be overheard. Or so my most recent interviewer told me.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the replies. Good to know this is all normal. I'm a teacher so they are not coming to school. I live alone so I don't want them in my home. I've never gone through this process before so I was just a bit curious about it.

I was in a similar situation a couple of months ago and the investigator did come to school. It was urgent--there had been some bureaucratic snafu and they needed to interview me immediately because the file was due right then and there. My principal was very understanding and just had someone cover for me while I answered the agent's questions in a conference room. It was about 20 minutes of going through my history with the person, what kind of contacts we had, if I knew about money problems or illegal activities, what she had told me about herself, etc. Not a big deal at all. How long the questions go and how detailed they are depends on what kind of clearance the person is applying for--I had done one of these interviews previously for an old roommate and she must have been getting a lower level clearance because this last time went much more in depth and as was about twice as long. But they may or may not tell you that.

Both times the agent showed me a federal badge and allowed me to inspect it. If they don't do this, ask.

Totally normal OP. And these freaks on here are projecting heavy! You don't sound paranoid at all from your post. You're a teacher- I understand. Valid question.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had an investigator show up at my door unannounced to ask me about my neighbor, whom I barely know.

This is very normal. They want to know if you are the neighborhood troublemaker, or not.

I've had them knock on the door a few times to ask about neighbors. Also been interviewed at work for friends. It's pretty straightforward.

The types of questions depend on your relationship. There should not be too much detail listed here, FYI.

+1 to its normal. I have done this several times. They came to my house -- much more convenient. They ask about anti American stuff, how long you knew them and so on. They ask financial questions like : do they live above their means?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your friend asked the wrong person to be a reference.

+1

You are paranoid, OP. Your friend should be alerted and another reference should be used. You better not blow it for your friend, that's all.

How old are you? Plenty of jobs in this geographical area require a clearance. Do you over react like this to everything? You really are a terrible choice.

OP here. Jesus Christ. Calm down. I've never done this before, that's all. I've know my friend for 32 years so I don't think I'll "blow it" for her. It was a bit weird that they wanted to come to my home.

Why? Why does this upset you? It's not like they called you out of the blue.

I think everyone else is overreacting and not the OP. I work for government but am not familiar with the type of security clearances requiring interviews. I would have asked the same questions OP had, and I would not want strangers in my home either. Nothing to hide.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your friend asked the wrong person to be a reference.

+1

You are paranoid, OP. Your friend should be alerted and another reference should be used. You better not blow it for your friend, that's all.

How old are you? Plenty of jobs in this geographical area require a clearance. Do you over react like this to everything? You really are a terrible choice.

OP here. Jesus Christ. Calm down. I've never done this before, that's all. I've know my friend for 32 years so I don't think I'll "blow it" for her. It was a bit weird that they wanted to come to my home.

They were trying to make it convenient for you. Are you a hoarder? Do you think the FBI agent is going to rob you? Weird that you're so freaked out about having them in your home.

+1

It sounds weird that you don't want anyone in your home.

OP here. You guys are nuts. I live alone, as I said. I don't invite unknown people into my home. I will do this willingly. It's the next to last week of school and I'm stressed and overwhelmed right now, is all. It's just one more thing on my list. My friend told me about this about 6 months ago and frankly I forgot all about it; the call just came out of the blue today. My friend actually had just started a new job in the private sector.

Thanks to all who provided helpful responses.

This is not a big deal - you can ask them to meet you at Starbucks. They are just going to ask you questions about your friend. It is normal to come to someone's home. As a matter of fact, when they talked to my mom (at my childhood home) they went up and down the street knocking on door asking if anyone knew me/remembered me.

The investigator was a contractor, btw. She didn't have an office.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your friend asked the wrong person to be a reference.

+1

You are paranoid, OP. Your friend should be alerted and another reference should be used. You better not blow it for your friend, that's all.

How old are you? Plenty of jobs in this geographical area require a clearance. Do you over react like this to everything? You really are a terrible choice.

OP here. Jesus Christ. Calm down. I've never done this before, that's all. I've know my friend for 32 years so I don't think I'll "blow it" for her. It was a bit weird that they wanted to come to my home.

Why? Why does this upset you? It's not like they called you out of the blue.

They'll ask about where your friend works, hobbies, lives. They ask if they know any foreign nationals, if they do drugs, how much they drink. They asked if he would be capable of plotting to overthrow government. Etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your friend asked the wrong person to be a reference.

+1

You are paranoid, OP. Your friend should be alerted and another reference should be used. You better not blow it for your friend, that's all.

How old are you? Plenty of jobs in this geographical area require a clearance. Do you over react like this to everything? You really are a terrible choice.

OP here. Jesus Christ. Calm down. I've never done this before, that's all. I've know my friend for 32 years so I don't think I'll "blow it" for her. It was a bit weird that they wanted to come to my home.

They were trying to make it convenient for you. Are you a hoarder? Do you think the FBI agent is going to rob you? Weird that you're so freaked out about having them in your home.

+1

It sounds weird that you don't want anyone in your home.

OP here. You guys are nuts. I live alone, as I said. I don't invite unknown people into my home. I will do this willingly. It's the next to last week of school and I'm stressed and overwhelmed right now, is all. It's just one more thing on my list. My friend told me about this about 6 months ago and frankly I forgot all about it; the call just came out of the blue today. My friend actually had just started a new job in the private sector.

Thanks to all who provided helpful responses.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your friend asked the wrong person to be a reference.

+1

You are paranoid, OP. Your friend should be alerted and another reference should be used. You better not blow it for your friend, that's all.

How old are you? Plenty of jobs in this geographical area require a clearance. Do you over react like this to everything? You really are a terrible choice.

OP here. Jesus Christ. Calm down. I've never done this before, that's all. I've know my friend for 32 years so I don't think I'll "blow it" for her. It was a bit weird that they wanted to come to my home.

They were trying to make it convenient for you. Are you a hoarder? Do you think the FBI agent is going to rob you? Weird that you're so freaked out about having them in your home.

+1

It sounds weird that you don't want anyone in your home.

Anonymous wrote:OP you should calm down. I think you were looking for everyone to say how awful this is and that your friend is putting you out. The reality is this is very normal and not a big deal.

+1

Anonymous wrote:I had an investigator show up at my door unannounced to ask me about my neighbor, whom I barely know.

This is very normal. They want to know if you are the neighborhood troublemaker, or not.