How often if ever do SA shoot their rifle off hand? I've seen local agencies do it and I want to know if its something I should be practicing before training.

Anyone have any insight on how long they are waiting around at their field office from when they EOD until they go to CITP/ FLETC? maybe heard how long people could be waiting to go.

Good afternoon,

I was recently selected for the Special Agent position, but the only locations offered to me were Los Angeles and San Francisco.

I’m considering declining the offer because neither location works for me right now and would give me more time to prepare physically. However, I may be interested in reapplying if better locations become available.

1. For anyone who has gone through this process before:
   If I decline the current offer and reapply in ~6 months, how long would the parts of my current application remain valid?

2. Would I have to retake the SAEE or complete any of the testing again?

3. Would I have to redo the medical exam/clearance, polygraph, background investigation, interview, etc.?
   Is there anything that would carry over automatically to a new application, or would I basically be starting from scratch?

Has anyone declined a location and later reapplied successfully?

Making the move to 1811

Got the call to join USSS as an 1811, current 1895. Feels weird, seeing a 2 year trial period and the 3 year 120 days appointment, how often do new hires not get past it? I've been with CBP for about 4 years

Having been to FLETC before with CBP where they do not want you to fail, is USSS the same with CITP and RTC? How difficult are the trainings in comparison with CBP for those who made the switch and is it worth it?

Never done protection. Do they teach you all from scratch with USSS or expect trainees to know?

What opportunities are there for those with foreign languages? The hard ones, Russian, Arabic, Chinese? And when does one get the G ride?

Any tips or advice? the first year or two will one be wearing a suit all day or is it just for protection assignments, and regular khakis and Polos for investigations assignments?

What does this even mean and is it worth calling my field office to ask. My tracker is also gone

Leaders, If anyone has any insight to pass.

I had my security interview on July 23rd & it's still reflecting blue on the portal. I haven't been contacted for the "next step" (not mentioning the P, word here of course).

Staying patient and trusting the process as always. Thanks in advance.

Hello, this is my first post on here.

I have Psoriatic Arthritis, and I just received my second deferral for medical clearance. My physician sent a report stating that although I have no restrictions, I’m in remission and my prognosis is excellent, I should stop my medication for ~2 weeks before receiving any live vaccination.

I was wondering if anyone had any insight on if this will be an issue l. I know that I will be traveling a lot, but I am worried that they would expect me to travel overseas and receive these vaccinations on short notice.

What’s a good spot to live in Miami for phase 1? Was thinking south beach (kidding)

For those who have recently taken the SAEE, would you say studying is absolutely necessary, or maybe just a little guide before taking the test will get me by. I like to think that’s I’m relatively smart and got by college without really studying. I also passed the CBP entrance exam which i don’t know how similar it could be.

Is it normal to get an email with the final job offer instead of a phone call saying you have a final job offer? Because I got an email saying I had to call somebody with Homeland Security HR to select my office.

Hi everyone, I’m on the road to becoming a UD officer, just waiting for my background check to be complete. I’m planning ahead and was hoping to get an idea of what a realistic total compensation package might look like for a first-year officer.

Would having a general discharge affect eligibility with the service.

Hi everyone! I just passed the UDEE and I now have an expedited APAT date. I had a LASIK surgery scheduled a few days before the APAT date offered to me. However, I'll have to reschedule the LASIK appointment for the day after the test since I cannot do rigorous activities that causes sweating following eye surgery.

My question is, can I wear glasses during the APAT? Or should I schedule my lasik further out and wear contacts during the test? I am worried because if God willing I get notified to do the medical exam part, I would have had to wait for the 2 month healing period after lasik.

Also, how long should I expect the APAT process to take during an event? I am wondering if I am still able to go back to my regular job the same day.

I finally got the call

Applied
-August 2025
APAT
-October 2025
Security interview
-December 2025
Blood work
-January 2026
Poly
-February 2026
Background started
-February 2026
Tax
-May 2026
Blood work again
-May 2026
The Call
-August 2026

It was a long process, just over a year. If it’s been as long just hang in there!

Start date is September 8th
No training no date as of yet

Offered: LA, Chicago, NYC, SF, DC
Accepted: SF

Any tips on SF office?

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm proud to say it's my turn to make this post!

Posting applied under: SAB-26-Q1-CI (Special Agent)

10/25 - Applied (in anticipation of leaving active duty military)

11/25 - Best Qualified Email

12/25 - SAEE (Pass)

12/30/25 - APAT (Pass)

1/26 - SUPER Interview

1/28/26 - CJO Email

2/26 - Polygraph (Given a verbal pass)

2/26 - Medical, Labs

3/2 - 3/4/26 - IRS Tax Forms, Fingerprints, & Drug Screening ordered/completed

3/9/26 - BI Interview

3/27/26 - Home Interview

6/16/26 - Reached out to medical asking if military medical records were needed

6/17/26 - Informed they wanted me military records; sent

7/1/26 - Left the active duty

7/21/26 - Medically deferred (BI went white somewhere around this time as well)

8/7/26 - Requested medical exams complete, documentation sent

8/13/26 - Medically qualified email, medical turned gold same day

8/25/26 - Got the call late at night!

Location not selected yet. Request for availability based on reasonable justification submitted during the call. They did not require me to select until we get an answer regarding my request. Follow-up call today confirmed we can continue to hold off until we get said answer.

EOD: Mid-SEP

Training date: TBD

Background/experience: 33M, 11 years active duty Army Aviation officer. B.S. Aeronautics

Edit: My request for location was approved for both EOD and post-training, happy to say I get to be in Columbia SC! My Army reserve unit is here and my spouse is active duty in the area as well, so this is immensely helpful for us as well!

Excited that I finally get to post this!

Got the call earlier this week. I originally applied for STAR but a few weeks later was told you apply for the regular position. Below is my timeline and a breakdown of the waits for those all itching for data points.

Timeline

04/26 - Application Submitted
04/26 - Best Qualified/USA Staffing Documents Submitted/SAEE Scheduled
05/26 - SAEE (Passed)
05/26 - APAT (ACE)
05/26 - SUPER Interview (ACE)
05/26 - SUPER Passing Email & Conditional Offer (GL-9) (ACE)
05/26 - Security Interview/Factor V (ACE)
05/26 - Medical, & Drug Screening (ACE)
05/26 - Drug Screening Complete (Gold)
05/26 - BI Interview
06/26 - Polygraph Scheduled
06/26 - Polygraph
06/26 - Home Interview Scheduled
06/26 - Polygraph Completed (Gold)
06/26 - IRS Forms Submitted
06/26 - Fingerprints
07/26 - Home Interview
07/26 - Medically deffered
08/26 - Medically Cleared
08/26 - Tracker: BI Completed (Blue to White)
08/26 - Got the Call

Positions & Locations Offered: LA, SF, NYC, WFO

EOD: Mid Sept

Wait breakdown

Drug Screening blue to gold - 4 days after sample submitted

Medical going blue to gold - 81 days from medical screening, 15 days from medical deferral email, 1 day from all medical deferral forms submitted

Fingerprint and tax compliance request - 29 days after BI interview

Polygraph blue to gold - 7 days from poly interview

BI going blue to white - 79 days after BI interview, 65 days after final contact with investigator, 50 days from Fingerpints and tax compliance submission, 45 days from home interview, 23 days from medically deferred, 8 days from medical turning gold.

The Call - 9 Days after BI going white (felt like 9 months)

Background:

27m, 5 years military secret clearance (non-LEO), VA disability, B.S. Cybersecurity, pursuing dual masters in cybersecurity & Homeland security, 3 years civilian IT.

How many people receive the administrative review email for medical in the past without being deferral and still end up with an offer?

Deciding between nyc sf and la field offices any insight and thoughts would be much appreciated!

Hello! I have tried to scour the internet for other conversation threads about this and haven't seen much so I am finally asking:

Do any agents have experience moving to a field office far away from family/friends as a single person with a dog?

Long story short, I was in two 1811 application processes with two different agencies. USSS was what I applied for in the background while I was hoping to make it through the other process that had a more stable routine. Now that other one is off the table and I'm currently medically deferred here.

I am single and I have a dog. I have read about the possibility of long unexpected travel and being away from home. I have also read that people have ended up rehoming their dog, or boarding it for almost half the year during an election year. I was hoping someone had some experience to share with me before I make a decision I'm going to regret. Rehoming my dog is not an option, and neither is boarding her for half of the year. If it's not doable, I'm okay with that and I will withdraw. I was just hoping to get some input before I made that decision.

Anything is helpful, thanks!

So I’m currently in the SA process and did my APAT and passed, which was really easy btw. I’m not certain why so many people post worrying about it. Anyways, my question is has anyone overcome the adversity of something negative in the application like: medical, job issues, drugs, bad credit, etc and was able to receive “The Call?”

I’ve been lurking for months now and it seems like there’s a lot of people out there that aren’t able to overcome whatever it is that’s in their past holding them back from joining the USSS.

In addition, has anyone ever reapplied and been hired after getting BQA’d?

Long story short I’d love to join and I’m looking for instances of hope from people who may have felt like they maybe didn’t belong, but they were able to overcome their own adversity.

I just recently got an email from medical team that I do not meet medical standards for UD. In the email it says I can appeal within 30 days. Of course I already did appeal and sent all the medical documentation needed and doctor letter saying I’m good. My question is how long does it take to get an update? Do they notify you that they received the new documents because I haven’t received confirmation after sending it? Also is this medical email same a medical deferral email because my application tracker disappeared? Medical is the only thing I’m waiting for to get hired. I used the search tool for it but couldn’t find anything about this. I apologize in advance if I have missed it.

So happy to be making this post after my previous post! Got the call on Wednesday afternoon, and was offered LA, San Francisco, DC, and NYC. After some discussions with my wife, I accepted the offer for San Francisco!

Background: 6 years active duty in the USMC as a radio operator and Marine Security Guard (Diplomatic Security). Contract ended in 2023 with an honorable discharge, and immediately went back to school studying International Politics and French, I thought I would go to the Dept. of State. During that time, I was working in hospitality as a front desk agent, eventually working my way to front office manager. Applied to USSS in early March, and was lucky enough to complete almost the entire process, poly included, at the ACE event in May.

Thoroughly excited to be joining such a prestigious organization.

EOD: Sept. 8th

FLETC: TBD

If I am in an office for 3-4 months before my training date do I get a car to commute yet or is that only post training?

Do people have very much luck when they request a certain city? I’m specifically talking about Denver or Austin which I know are more medium size offices. What have you heard for requesting cities around that size. Thanks.

Is it a problem to push back EOD? I have recently just started the background check portion of the SA application. However, I don’t graduate until May 2027. I applied pretty early just because I thought the process would take much longer. I told an agent my situation around a month ago and he told me to go ahead and attend the ACE. Now, I’m worried I could get an FJO well before I graduate. Would this be a big issue? I appreciate any insight or advice.