Security Clearance Question for .Mil guys

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Security Clearance Question for .Mil guys

Posted: 2/15/2006 9:55:21 AM EDT

A buddy of mine is waiting for his Security Clearance to come back. Do any of you know how long it generally takes for Security Clearance granted through EPSQ, and is there any way to find out (without going through the security manager of his unit) what the status of his clearance is? He says there's an automated number that has security clearance as 'Press 1', but he isn't sure if he should be calling that number.

His unit is FUBAR, and screwed up the renewal of his clearance which is why he's kinda anxious to find this out.

Please help him!

Posted: 2/15/2006 10:08:36 AM EDT

[#1]

Depends on a lot of stuff. I've seen clearances fly though and drag on...

I'm not the Security Manager in my unit but from what I've noticed is that if it gets held up it's usually because there's some "unfavorable" stuff on the record.

Tell your buddy to sit back and relax. It's out of his hands and there's not much he can do at this time.

~Dg84

Posted: 2/15/2006 10:12:12 AM EDT

[#2]

Took me 5 years and I had to submit my security clearance package five times, kept getting lost in the system or something wasn't right. I had an interim clearance almost the whole time I was active duty. My clearance got approved 4 months before I was RELAD.

Posted: 2/15/2006 10:13:07 AM EDT

[#3]

im sure the internet is going to be very fruitfull with this request.

Posted: 2/15/2006 10:13:36 AM EDT

[#4]

Somewhere around 3-6mos if they dont have to interview you.

Can be shorter or longer. Kansas lost about 40% of my units SC's so we had to submit new ones once we got in country. Been almost 3mos now since we resubmitted them.

Posted: 2/15/2006 10:14:54 AM EDT

[#5]

I figured with all the .mil guys here, someone probably knows how to find out what his status is.
That 5 years thing is going to be tough for him to take.

Posted: 2/15/2006 10:15:43 AM EDT

[#6]

Some of it depends on his branch of service. The Navy Central Adjudication Facility has Security Managers only website that his SecMan can access. He can get a print out of current clearance.

Time is impossible to answer, as it depends on the type of clearance requested, and the "issues" that one has in their background. So, your question is impossible to answer from the information given.

Posted: 2/15/2006 10:16:02 AM EDT

[#7]

it also depends on the level of clearance.

my mom totally f'ed up my credit, so my Secret took about a year, 14 months--somewhere around that.

they're still working on my TS/SIOP*, and that one just hit a year a couple weeks ago.

normally a secret only takes a few months, TS can take a year or two depending on other conditions--like with mine, SIOP is also part of the package.

*SIOP = Nukes, basically.

Posted: 2/15/2006 10:17:51 AM EDT

[#8]

Lost packages seem to be a recurring theme. I forget how long it took for me on the second go-round (our clearances are "re-done" every ten years), but it was a while.

Unless the procedures have recently changed, he should be just fine using an interim clearance for twelve months. These cannot be extended, however.

Posted: 2/15/2006 10:38:19 AM EDT

[#9]

He's signing up for an account right now. He should be along shortly.

ETA: And while he's waiting for his account to be acticivated, he want's me to ask if there is a way to find out if his paperwork has been processed and at what stage in the process it is in.

Posted: 2/15/2006 10:46:25 AM EDT

[#10]

It's an ironic procedure.

I've worked with two retired CIA fellows who joined our company. One waited over a year for his clearance to transfer; the other was well over six months.

My own took a year.

It depends heavilly upon the workload of the agency.

Posted: 2/15/2006 10:49:16 AM EDT

[#11]

If you lived in a ton of different places and had a ton of different jobs it can take a while.

Posted: 2/15/2006 11:33:38 AM EDT

[#12]

Civilian buddy of mine just went for TS, and it's looking like 9mos to a year.

Posted: 2/16/2006 12:14:22 PM EDT

[#13]

The internet site to check clearances is called JPAS and you must have an account to gain access. Your security manager or any security manager with a JPAS account can take your SSN and look up you clearance status.

JPAS will tell you if it is still at OPM for investigation or if it is at CCF waiting for someone to review the OPM investigation results.

This info is as of 1 year ago. Part of the delay is in 2005, DSS stopped doing military investigations. All military investigations are being done by OPM now. And in the change over DSS lost 3400 records. Over 100 of those were from my previous unit.

OPM will eventually have an online website to check status but they are extremely behind the times with technology.

Posted: 2/16/2006 12:31:33 PM EDT

[#14]

How does credit history bear upon your clearnace? Do they figure that if you owe a lot of money and your credit history is shabby that you are apt to sell info or something? Will this be enough to disable you to get cleared even though everything else is exemplar?

Posted: 2/16/2006 12:35:17 PM EDT

[#15]

Depends on the level of clearance your friend is looking to get, right now OPM is running around 18 to 24 months on a TSCI and 4-6 on a Secret.

However most commands can issue an interim as soon as the SF86 is turned in.

Posted: 2/16/2006 12:37:09 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
How does credit history bear upon your clearnace? Do they figure that if you owe a lot of money and your credit history is shabby that you are apt to sell info or something? Will this be enough to disable you to get cleared even though everything else is exemplar?

If you look into most investigations for breaches they involve one of two things, sex and financial problems.

Posted: 2/16/2006 12:45:54 PM EDT

[#17]

You can get an interium rushed through in days if needed ... but the normal pile is months and months (and months) long - I've heard waits up to a year. Following the Walker brothers ... and 9-11 nobody is in a hurry to rush through these like they were in the past.

Posted: 2/16/2006 12:59:31 PM EDT

[#18]

Battalion commanders can grant Interim Secret but Interim TS/SCI need to get approved at CCF. A "Compelling Needs" request can be sent to CCF to get a Interim TS/SCI if needed for a deployment or assignment. Pain in the butt, but it can be done.

Posted: 2/16/2006 4:11:22 PM EDT

[#19]

It's improved over the 2+ years for a new clearance with a real background check. If he hasn't ever had a background check there are two usual delays, as noted some issue of some kind, but the major trouble is usually workload, not only are they doing a lot more now and that is bogging down the central facilities, if it goes to one of the local or regional sites for actually accomplishing the check and that site is overloaded that drags it out even more.

In the OLD days a NAC or ENT/NAC was good for an interim Secret. National Agency Checks were just that they checked with FBI, SS, USFS, NPS (yep, I guess to see if you pissed off Smokey Bear), etc. Abackground check is an agent actually going out and interviewing people in person or by phone. A BI used to be good for a TS, any additional things, SCI, SBI, SCCI, etc require additional processing.

Remember he is working with a federal bureaucracy that keeps getting "improved".

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Security Clearance Question for .Mil guys

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