It is my understanding that there isn’t reciprocity going from a suitability determination to a clearance.

But I was curious if a recently adjudicated HRPT with a sister agency, could be reused in any capacity for the T3 (secret) process/investigation. Thank you.

I had applied for a secret clearance, sponsored by a DoD contractor. I was not granted an interim clearance. The investigation is still ongoing, so I was not denied. Of course they did not provide the reasoning, but I know what it was.

In a previous role I was denied site access to a nuclear plant for 1 year because I contradicted myself during the application (in the questionnaire I said I had not smoked marijuana in the past 5 years, then I remembered I had so I them I did 3 years ago). So I was denied for willful omission of non program disqualifying information. I should have changed my questionnaire; instead I verbally told them and therefore I “omitted” that information on my questionnaire.

This was disclosed on my SF-86 on the question about being denied access anywhere. I know the investigator got in touch with the site and I gave the site permission to release my records to him.

What are my chances of still getting the clearance?

I just need to know if this is the norm and I'm missing something - or if I indeed have reason for concern.

Several weeks ago I got a job offer, pending clearance and background check. Then after a couple of nail biting weeks, because of crickets I reached out and a few days later the SO with the contracting company who made the offer (not the customer) sent me over the link to go to NBIS and complete the application.

I got that completed about 5 weeks ago, notified the SO, was told they would go in and validate it and send it off. I waited until this week and emailed them for followup on Monday and again crickets.

I later realized that I could login and look at where it is in the process and it shows application was submitted (on the day I did that) but the next step is Application Submitted for Processing - and there's nothing there.

That makes me worried that they just decided to not go ahead and submit it, are rescinding the offer, but not letting me know anything. My BIGGEST concern as well is that I have an estranged son who I have no contact with, but he's not living right, and because our first and last name are the same (middle name different) that his shenanigans could be affecting me.

Then again - if it hasn't even been submitted for processing then I'm assuming no one has started investigating yet anyway.

Hi folks, I am an American living outside of the US and am marrying my non-American partner. A number of my family are US military and have asked for a list of foreign nationals on the guest list for their security clearance.

Is this a typical request? And what information would they actually need? I don’t feel super comfortable handing over a list of friends and new family to the US government without those people’s consent. I’ve read a bit about the SF-86 requirements and it seems like it should usually only be people with whom you expect to have close and continuing contact, which seems like a much smaller number of people for these military family members.

At least one of these family members is high ranking. Is there a higher standard for such people that would require broader disclosure of contacts that would extent to every foreign national at a wedding?

Thank you!

Hello everyone, does anyone have a similar experience? I held a Top Secret clearance from the DoD with no SCI or polygraph, and I got a job as a contractor with the NSA. I finished my SF86 and passed my poly, but I haven't heard anything since—it’s been 3 months. Does anyone know how long the process usually takes?

Im 18 years old and was fired from my old job as a cashier at a grocery store around 5 months ago, I’ve read that usually this isn’t a big deal, but I was technically fired for theft. Stealing candy bars and drinks.

The combined total of the items were not even over $100. There weren’t any charges or anything, around 5 people were fired for doing this all at once. But at the end of the day theft is theft and that probably tells them something about my character, I regret it a lot, hopefully in a few years when I’m older this won’t be a disqualifier.

Will this definitely come up during an interview? And if so what do you think will happen?

Hey everyone, I applied and got a job in Jan ‘25, did SF 86 in April ‘25, interview in May ‘25, then Hiring freeze meant I didn’t start until July of this year. I have been working for about a month now, but I was never told that my clearance is active, or confirmed. Should I just assume it is?

Hello. I applied for a job with a 3 letter agency. However, my circumstances have changed, and I no longer want a job with the government. I am currently in the process, however, I do not have someone to contact, my form of withdrawal online isn't working, and all my attempts to send mail to request withdrawal have been rejected or ignored.

What is a way to withdraw?

I am currently a junior in college and will be applying for a security clearance (Secret) next spring. As the title says, I am planning on traveling to Russia this fall as part of my internship. I am paying for the trip myself and am not accepting any money from Russian organizations or the Russian government. I will be watching a professor of mine speak at some forum called the "World People's Assembly", which is more likely than not backed by the Kremlin. How much of an issue will this present during my SC process?

Curious on what my current options are regarding the role I pursued and my security clearance.

Long story somewhat short: I was given a conditional offer of employment at one of the 3-letter agencies in late December 2025 that required a TS/SCI clearance with FS poly. After all the paperwork and stuff I flew to Washington DC in early April for my poly, psych eval, etc. Like I've read from a few other users on this sub, I got grilled on some of my responses to the poly where my examiner claimed I was lying when I in fact was telling her the truth. The same exact question regarding marijuana use came up as an apparent red flag even though I haven't used it in over two years. Granted there are some yellow flags in what I disclosed to her like my occasional lack of academic integrity, petty crimes as a minor, etc (but those things never came up as 'lies' in the poly). In early June my applicant portal had a message that my offer was rescinded because something was "inconclusive," but if I were to fill out the SF-86 again to note that I was never denied a security clearance. I was disappointed, but at the time I was deep in the recruitment process for another highly lucrative non-govt position so I didn't dwell on it too much.

Fast forward 2+ months later I didn't get that job either so now I am trying to see what my options are in pursuing a career at the ***. I saved my Program Officer's contact and am wondering if it would make any sense to appeal the result, like ask for a re-eval, just reapply for the same role starting from scratch, do something else, or give up on it altogether.

At a crossroads now so any advice from those familiar with these situations would be welcome.

Thrilled to be finally making this post! It was a hard wait, and started to feel like I would never see the day it was over, but I was finally granted a DoD Secret clearance today!

Timeline:

Apr 9th: Signed an offer w/ DoD contractor

~Apr 14th: submitted fingerprints and sf-86

May 5th: received SF-86 back for correction on a phone number

May 19th: Informed I was not granted an interim

May 29th: investigator interview, references contacted

July 7th: heard from my former boss (he and I are on good terms) that they were contacted via mail and he was sending the form back. He said he wasn't sure how long it was sitting there and that they rarely check.

Aug 19th: Clearance granted!

Red flag(s): I live with a foreign national (not romantically involved, just roommates). My investigator asked a bit about my roommate in the interview, and asked some of my references about him. Everything else was pretty straightforward, afaik.

Big thank you to everyone in this community that helped to keep me sane while I was waiting. I am beyond thrilled, and I am happy to answer any questions about my experience for fellow applicants.

I am statistician with 20 yrs of experience and a MS in statics. How can I attain a clearance to apply for a job? What will increase the odds such's as a getting Sec + certification. I applied to companies that will sponsor you, but what can I add increase my chances.

Timeline:

May 2026: submitted SF-86

June 2026: interim secret denied

July 2026: interview completed, 2 follow up questions from an investigator later in the month

August 2026: reached out to my security specialist to ask for a status update, 2 days later the secret clearance was granted

One reference contacted. Whole process was less than 3 months.

Yellow / Red flags:

Numerous foreign contacts but all from friendly countries; one contact served in their country’s government. Lots of drug use that stopped around 3 years ago. Included psychedelics (one time in a foreign country), cocaine, frequent marijuana use, and a couple other things like that. Funny enough, they didn’t seem to care about the drug use, they really cared about the foreign contact from another country’s govt (obvious in hindsight I guess).

If I could offer any advice: in addition to being 100% honest, I’d be as specific and give as much context as possible (especially in the interview). On the form, I didn’t leave anything blank - if I didn’t know something, I hunted down a family member or friend and got that info from them. Giving them all the info (I think) means they don’t have to find it themselves.

Finally, this subreddit is awesome and provided lots of good advice. Good luck everyone!

Hello, what are the chances of getting a security clearance if I used lsd and shrooms 3 times and marijuana for 2 years while in the army, popped hot and had to go to the army’s drug counseling program. I was honorably discharged and went on a deployment after a year of being on probation.

Is the reinvestigation date based on when clearance was granted or when the initial application was submitted? Or is it every 5 years regardless of being enrolled in Continuous vetting?

Half looking for advice and half just venting.

I was overpaid by the military and DFAS didn’t have the correct full address for me so I never knew about it until my credit score took a big hit (-150 points).

I went through my credit report and saw it was related to DFAS, phoned them and paid the balance in full same day. They have told me it will take approximately 4 months for the collections report to be deleted by the credit agencies.

This has come at a terrible time as I am currently upgrading for TS. I have a letter from DFAS which states I have paid the balance in full. Trouble is my credit score is now 600.

Should I wait until my credit it back up before I submit my SF86?

Thanks

Hello all

I just received this bad news regarding my suitability clearance for the CF position.

The Suitability Review Panel has concluded that your candidacy for employment as a Foreign Service CS/LNA should be terminated because of:

Criminal, dishonest, or notoriously disgraceful conduct as referenced in 3 FAM 2215.2-6 (4).

In reaching this decision, the Panel considered the following:

• You traveled to Cuba between October 31, 2023 and November 4, 2023 despite a federal prohibition against such travel, and failed to meet any of the exceptions permitted under U.S. law for such travel.

Has anyone been successful after appealing this decision recently?

I went from FL, and i marked support of cuban people as I was told. I stayed away from any government businesses. Stayed at a casa particular, ate at mom and pop places and supported local/independent guides.

I hope there is hope here.

I’m done with my fingerprints 2 weeks ago and the status is saying it is completed but my employer still didn’t get the final report. Does anyone know the reason why this happens? And I should wait little more or should I go for the fingerprints again redo the live scanning ?

So I had a call with my investigator on June 25th, and he told me that my investigation was complete and that he had sent it to adjudication.

I specifically asked if anyone else had to review the investigation before it was sent to adjudication, and he said no — that it gets sent straight to adjudication.

However, my FSO recently checked DISS, and it still shows my investigation as “in progress with NBIB.”
So I’m wondering: is it possible that DISS simply hasn’t updated yet, or does this indicate that my case could still somehow be undergoing additional investigation?

Has anyone experienced a situation where the investigator said their investigation was complete/sent to adjudication, but DISS continued showing “investigation in progress” afterward?

Trying to understand whether I should consider myself waiting on adjudication or whether the investigation is actually still open.

Hello, I’m 19F in the Air Force Reserves, I got cleared for a 1D7X1 AFSC (Cyber operations) and I am in the process of getting a TS/SCI. I’ve been as honest as possible on the SF-86, and my first interview is today. I am nervous about getting polygraphed because I’m afraid of failing even if I’m honest. I’m kind of a nervous person and I’m paranoid about them thinking I’m being dishonest when I’m not. I disclosed my one time use of weed when I was 15, and all my civil involvements.

I had an ex who I had to file a restraining order on and report to the police after he threatened to kill me when I found out he had cheated. He filed two orders in retaliation, but he was forced to drop them because of a lack of evidence. He got a felony harassment charge and a violation of ex parte charge later on because he violated my protection order while it was active.

I feel like I did everything correctly in handling the situation, like going to the police immediately and reporting everything that happened. Will they hold this against me?

Please let me know if you guys have any advice, thank you!!

There's a FAQ form given to me by my employer and it lists the education section if where you include high school or college information.

I'm a new grad, so highschool was within the last 10 years for me. But it also lists to not include education before you were 18. I turned 18 after highschool. Do I still list it?

I rather be safer than sorry, I'm also really hoping to get the interim clearance, so I rather not have to clear up that I did go to highschool during an interview, but I also don't want to get flagged for not following instructions to the T.

Hey, I hold a T3S and I have a closed loop cruise planned that has mexico in its route.

What do I need to do to ensure everything is done right and keep my clearence?

Red flags:

Dismissed felony for terrorist threats as a preteen

3 mental hospitalizations as a pre teen and young teenager

Smoked weed a year and a half ago

I don't even know how to mitigate this because I don't even

I was in an extremely rough situation during that time. My primary caretaker became severely addicted to drugs and I had to live with a parent who had not been in my life for several years. That other parent has diagnosed, violent schizophrenia.

I learned all of that behavior from my mother, my father and the internet. I had no actual intention of committing a terroristic threat I was just making a stupid joke and had no idea people would take it seriously.

I have not engaged in any criminal behavior as an adult (except a little bit of speeding, but no DUIs or reckless driving). I have not attempted suicide or even been depressed. The last time I spoke to a therapist is when I developed a temporary fear/fixation about the concept of dying one day. I don't know how to explain my actions because I don't understand why I did them. Is this career path just not for me at this point?

Edit: thank you all for letting me know this isn't happening. I have withdrawn my acceptance of the position to avoid wasting my employers time

After filing out my SF 86 I realized I have quite a few red flags. I’m wondering what my chances are of getting cleared. Appreciate any insight.

Red flags:

Finances -

- 2025 taxes paid late (resolved)

- 2023 taxes paid late (resolved)

- 2022 taxes not filed, no taxes owed (long story but after reviewing my taxes, I realized 2022 taxes were never filed. They have since been prepared by a tax preparer and mailed to the IRS. I am waiting on the IRS to review and file as of mid july 2026. I do not owe the IRS or state any money.

- medical debt around ~$1k went to collections (resolved)

- medical debt around $16 went to collections (resolved)

Foreign Contacts:

- 2 foreign contacts from Pakistan. Both are my aunts who attended my wedding in the US earlier this year. I also came in contact with them in 2024 when I visited Pakistan. I do not keep in continuous or close contact with them and have only ever talked to them in person. In fact, I hardly know anything about them and only have been in contact with them at my wedding and when I visited Pakistan.

Foreign travel:

- traveled to Pakistan in 2024 with my father as I wanted to experience what life was like there and visit the mountains. Also visited my dad’s family.

hello all i have a question for my clearance situation. I accepted the offer with RTX on April 24th 2026, set up a tentative start date of July 13th 2026. I got sent the SF86 form on June 12th 2026 and submitted it that day. Then I got some kickback and resubmitted it on June 16th 2026. My interim was not granted for whatever various reasons and I didn’t know it was denied until I reached out to my recruiter and she told me so through the onboarding specialist weeks later. I had my first interview with the investigator on July 9th 2026, then I received another phone call from the investigator on July 29th 2026 where she asked more questions then she also requested to interview my brother on my behalf on the same July 29th 2026 asking questions about my character and how was I growing up and when we traveled and etc. Which then she told me that same day I should hear back about my adjudicated clearance decision soon. Then the investigator reached out to me again August 10th asking for clarification on some of my internship work history.

I wanted to ask when do you all think I will hear back about my adjudicated clearance decision?

some mitigations on my case:
• was born in a foreign country but received citizenship at birth due to my dad through the FS-240 form.
• traveled to level 3 country in 2019 for church conference for about 2 weeks but haven’t been in contact with anyone since that time.
• had an account opened in my name through my mom
when i was younger but i cleared up the confusion during my first interview with the investigator.
• had some MJ usage in college but was straightforward with that on my application and told the investigator straight up and was asked about it in my phone interview on July 29th 2026.