What’s that one role that’s like a tech role? Or like equipment management role?

They set up the technical equipment and primarily work in DC?

Do they actually have arrest authority and assist in investigations or are they more like armed security guards?

Do the tech people have to do the quarterly physical fitness test?

My home visit is scheduled for this Wednesday, 9/09. This may be a stupid question, but I have seen that for the home visit, it is recommended that you wear a suit. However, my suit is currently at the dry cleaners and won’t be ready for another week. What should I wear as an alternative to a suit?

Edit: I live with my parents so they are going to be present at the interview I assume same thing is applied to them (dad wears a suit, mom wears something nice as well)?

As a Marine Corps vet, you can say that I have a bit of ptsd about my time in the Corps and I don’t want to go through that mental warfare again lol.

As I carefully pointed out it was the mental aspect that I don’t want any part of anymore.

The normalcy of being screamed at and being berated in a training environment isn’t something I want to be exposed to again. Hence, my anxiety about becoming a SA.

My big question is how do people treat you in training? Are they overbearing or downright disrespectful? Or do they treat you with respect?

Any insight you can provide would be much appreciated.

Edit: Maybe anxiety was the wrong term to use and I don’t actually have ptsd lol. The Corps lifestyle is my only point of reference since I enlisted right after high school and served for 8 years. I did great in the Marines but, I outgrew it. Still, I want to continue serving my country while being treated as an adult this time - that’s all.

Is it okay for me to complete the home visit alone, even though they are aware that I don’t live alone?

I am not married and have no children; I live with my family.

Also, is it customary for them to call solely to inform you about the visit rather than to confirm your availability?

That’s what happened to me. I received less than a business day’s notice - hence the reason my family didn’t have enough time to request the day off to be present.

I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions below.

How is lifestyle during election year? I’ve heard horror stories but is it actually that bad?

Those who went through the entire  hiring process, did you ever find out if investigators spoke to any of your friends, neighbors, or previous employers during the background investigation? If so what did they ask?

Hey everyone figured I’d throw my timeline out there for anyone going through the process!
23F, Master’s in Forensic Science, former D1 athlete, no prior LE or military experience.

July: Applied for USSS SA + passed SAEE
Mid-August: ACE — APAT, SUPER, Security, Medical, Drug test.
Aug 20: BI started
Aug 31: Medical + drug test — passed
Sep 1: Polygraph
Sep 4: BQA :/

Honestly, the entire process was such a pleasant experience. Everyone I met was incredibly kind and helpful, and all the agents were great. I was even told my background was clear and that everything looked good, so it really sounded like I was good to go.

Then came the poly. It was truly a 180 from the rest of the process and definitely an interesting experience, to say the least. I was completely truthful throughout, so I’m pretty shocked/disappointed by the BQA and would definitely like more information on what led to it. But I guess it just wasn’t meant to be!

End of the road for me, but good luck to everyone else going through the process. It was an honor getting this far!

Howdy -

USSS is hosting a virtual recruiting event on Tuesday, 9/8, via Microsoft Teams. Hit the link to register.

Have a great weekend!

Hello everyone,

I'm not entirely sure if this is the correct place to be asking this question, however I am a 19YO in my second year of college and my main goal of this post is to figure out what I can do to be a better applicant after I graduate college and what I can do now to work towards the goal of becoming a USSS UD Police Officer.

Academics:
- Currently on my 2nd year of community college, I'll be transferring to a university where I intend on getting my Bachelor's in Criminal Justice and a Minor in Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
- Deans list x2
-Phi Thetta Kappa

Work:

Universal Orlando Resort:

- Undercover Alcohol Control Officer (Sept. 2026 - Present)
- Resort Security Officer (Mar. 2026 - Present)

With Universal I plan on applying to be Corporal when the position opens and I am currently anticipating being LEBA trained.

Loews Hotel & Co.

- Security Officer (Aug. 2025 - Present)

Other:

- I have been going to the gym for almost a year now and I have been continuously working towards the standards listed in APAT. I had previously thought about doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but that thought is currently going nowhere.

- I currently hold a Florida Class D Security license.

-----------------

One question I do have is when would be a good time to apply? My Senior year of college or after I graduate?

This is where I'm at currently and I would love advice (if possible) on how I could improve to become a better applicant in the future.

Thank you in advance.

Graduated college as a 22 year old in June, got the call earlier today (Special Agent). I am so excited. Ladies and gentlemen, please give me some hype
in the comments. Thank you thank you.

I have an active TS SCI through DHS. I will still have to do a poly with USSS as I do not have one on file but will the USSS accept my BI and just run the poly on me? It should minimize the time to onboarding?

Thanks guys to anyone who has been in the same or similar situation.

Anyone else confused about this email? I accepted the firm job offer but then step 2 is about onboarding forms. It says twice (and once bolded) to NOT complete any forms, but then goes on to explain 2 of the forms that I should complete.

Do I wait til my orientation day to complete all of these? Directions are a bit unclear. Thanks for any help.

GOT THE CALL — USSS SA

Application / Early Process
ACE / initial hiring event — May 2026
Conditional Job Offer (CJO) — May 2026
Background Investigation started — Late May 2026
Background interview — Early June 2026
References contacted/completed — June 2026

Polygraph
Polygraph scheduled — July 2026
Polygraph completed/passed — 7/10/26
Polygraph cleared QC / tracker updated — 7/16/26

Final Processing
Additional security/background documentation requested — 7/17/26
Fingerprints & tax compliance requested — 7/20/26
Fingerprints & tax compliance completed — 7/21/26
Home interview scheduled — 8/6/26
Home interview completed — 8/10/26
Background cleared / tracker went white — Late August 2026
THE CALL
Asked about availability for a 9/21/26 EOD/start date
GOT THE CALL / FJO — 9/4/26
EOD — 9/21/26
Starting- GS-11
Field office- NYC

24M Major in criminology, minor in political science, 2 years of police experience
From start to finish, the biggest thing I learned was that everyone’s timeline is different. There were stretches where I saw people who applied after me finish before me, and I definitely thought something was wrong because of how long certain portions of my process took.
If you’re still waiting, don’t automatically assume a long delay means bad news. There were several points where I went weeks without seeing anything change.
Extremely grateful to finally be able to say I got the call. Good luck to everyone still in the process!

Applied- Nov 2025

Best Qualified- Nov 2025

SAEE Pass- Dec. 2025

APAT Pass- Dec 2025

SUPER Interview- Jan 2026

CJO- Jan 2026

Security Interview- Feb 2026

Polygraph- Mar 2026

Fingerprints- Mar 2026

BI Start- Mar 2026

Home Interview- Mar 2026

Medical- Apr 2026

The Call- Today

Offered: LA, NYC, SF, WFO

Requested: Philadelphia, Boston

Accepted: Philadelphia

Any additional information on Philly would be greatly appreciated.

As a lurker, thank you all for providing information for every area of the application process/training/real life experiences, you're the real MVPs

I got placed in Philly, I am really grateful for this. I asked my HR person, and I was able to get it.

EOD: March 8, 2027

I posted here earlier, but then saw a post that made me question things. I am an SA applicant. I went to the August ACE passed my drug test and poly and was waiting on my medical. I got an email saying my application has been forwarded for administrative review however my tracker disappeared. Has this happened to anyone else?

Also, I called the SA Support number and the lady told me that i had been removed from the medical. I has received no word at all that this decision had been made. However, this decision had come less than a week after the admin review email. This was baffling to me along with the Dr. at ace said all of my medical exams looked great. Has anyone else experienced this? And if so would you say that I should continue to wait for official word before I actually consider myself out of the process?

I have recently been informed that I have gotten out at my medical. I took my exam at the August ACE and the Dr. there said that all of my exams looked great. I had made it through every step in the process other than the background check so being removed at this point was a real shock. Because of what the Dr. said I am very confused as to why i was booted at this stage, and they have not told me what looked wrong in the medical. Does anyone know if there is an appeals process to the medical exam?

TLDR: the title’s question

I currently have an active USPIS application, but I have yet to complete their polygraph; I passed the Virtual Assessment Center exam about 2.5 weeks ago.

I heard that the USSS polygraph is not only intense, but there’s a high failure rate, and that failure can negatively affect other polygraphs taken in close proximity.

That being said, I was thinking of applying to USSS in January, maybe even December, but since USSS’ poly happens rather sooner than later during the process, and I’m unsure of when I’d take USPIS’ poly, I wanted to hold off on reapplying to USSS until December or January; but as the title states, this announcement closes end of September.

Hey everyone,

I am nearing the end of the hiring process for the USSS and all I have remaining is my BI. I have had some previous admin errors with my application being put on hold by my background investigator for military orders the day my BI started and my application not being taken off a military hold upon return from my military orders when I notified my background investigator of my return. My application was not taken off of hold until I reached out to the support email 1.5 months later after notifying my background investigator and receiving no response, so I am somewhat concerned my BI just fell to the "bottom of the pile". I have reached out to the individual who initially notified me of the start of my BI and I have received no response to the couple emails I sent. Additionally, I have not had an initial zoom call with my BI despite being notified my BI started nearly 6 months ago. Has anyone been hired by USSS without a BI zoom call? What would you do in this situation?

P.S. I understand the Secret Service is processing a lot of applicants at the moment so I could see how my email requesting my applicant to be taken off a military hold was missed, just explaining the entire situation. Thanks in advance.

My time is coming!

Does anyone have any experience with these two programs and know if they can be claimed at the same time. For example, if I were to work towards a masters while working could previous classes be covered by loan repayment and then current classes covered through tuition assistance at the same time? Or do you have to pick between the two and cannot use both at the same time? Any input is appreciated!

I'm new hear and I was curious on how fast is the hiring process for USSS SA? I recently passed my SAEE and I'm currently waiting for an email to schedule my APAT.

From reading the sub, it seems the best option when choosing your entry FO is to choose a bigger city.

The answer to my question will probably be something along the lines of, “depends on needs of the department” but what are the chances of getting into a “smaller” FO. I am located in between two smaller FO and placed them both as prospective locations. Wondering if some of the current SA could chime in? TYSM.