Hello all, long time lurker and looking for some advice. Over a year ago, I was fortunate enough to land a conditional job offer with a 3-letter agency. Unfortunately, I disclosed a one time incident of illegal drug use 6 years prior that was not included on my SF86 during my second polygraph examination. I am all but certain this will result in a denial. And rightfully so.
The day after the poly, I met with my background investigator, disclosed the illegal drug use to him, and provided multiple references (at his request) to serve as mitigation. That was over 6 months ago. According to my program officer, my BI is complete.
My question is this: do you think the best course of action is to simply withdraw my application to avoid the inevitable SOR? I nearly did it after my poly and have been tempted ever since because can’t see how this situation I’ve created ends on a positive note. Just looking for some advice. Thanks for reading.
If you withdraw your application and reapply later, I’m pretty sure that everything from this application will be reviewed and will remain in play. In other words, you can address it now or you can address it later.
But, that’s just MY opinion . . . and the three letters do pretty much what they want.
Thanks, Ed. I appreciate the advice and taking the time to read the post.
I am not sure how to give you an advice on this… I would consult a security clearance attorney to gauge the case. There is a good chance that you will be cleared based on the information provided, and you were not confronted with this derogatory information (that is what I assumed). If you were confronted, then that is a different story.
Nonetheless, I am of an opinion that it is better to quit and try again down the road than to have a security clearance denial in my record. Also, you will need to report that denial on every subsequent application.
@AWoodhull . . . I kind of understand your “live to fight another day” philosophy here but this investigation isn’t going to just disappear. If the OP is withdraws and applies again in the future, the fact that he withdrew an application that looked like it was denied WILL show up and be looked at. I don’t see that as any better than reporting a previous denial if you have mitigated the issues raised in the denial.
Thanks for the response, AWood. The examiner did recognize that it was not on the SF86 and we had a discussion where I provided specifics. While the examiner tried to get me to admit to using it on more than one occasion and paying for it, I denied those allegations, which was the truth. So I am guessing that’s what you meant by being confronted.
As Ed pointed out, I think whether I withdraw or not ends any chance of working for this particular three letter agency. As it stands now, I’m leaning more towards playing it safe, withdrawing, and potential preserving other opportunities down the road. Just tough officially close the door without knowing but no one to blame but myself. Thanks again for your insight.
I should clarify. The applicant will need to disclose the drug use in subsequent applications unless the drug use is no longer within scope of the question.
“…that looked like it was a denied…” is not the same thing as a denial. When you have a security clearance denial on your record, it can be a kiss of death for some agencies and some contractors as well. With the denial.
It is a tough choice, but again… I suggest you to consult a security clearance attorney before you make the decision. The drug use was once and it was 6 years ago. I think you can mitigate that, but I could be wrong. Good luck.