Are they disqualification or mitigation factors?

I will need to obtain Secret Clearance for a DOD contractor and I need some guidance regarding my situation. I apologize for asking a lot of questions in advance.

Which factors below are considered as disqualification or mitigation?

  1. Immigrated to the US 5 years ago
  2. Naturalized a few months ago
  3. Dual citizenship (Vietnam/U.S)
  4. Only have foreign passport (I’m apply for an U.S passport but it won’t be available when I need to submit SF86)
  5. Immediate family are all green card holders
  6. Some extended family are also have green cards.
  7. Foreign contacts: they are all Vietnamese citizen that live in different country as VISA students (Canada, Japan, Taiwan, VN)
  8. I sent some money to relatives in Vietnam during COVID ( $2000 x 3)
  9. I dont have any work experiences or financial ties with Vietnam
  10. The only international travel that I ever did was to immigrate to the U.S. I haven’t left the U.S since, so I don’t have any foreign travels.
  11. My immediate family did some travel back to VN several times. (Not sure if I have to list them as foreign travels)
  12. Cohabitant is a U.S born citizen with no foreign contacts.
  13. A small traffic ticket (campus police)
  14. No drugs, no alcohol
  15. 15k CC debt but Im paying on time every months.
  16. Moved to different addresses but I didnt change my permanent address since they are all in the same city.

First, the obligatory disclaimer, I am not an adjudicator. From my experience as an investigator, I do not see any disqualifying factors. In fact, you seem like a very common case. You will probably be contacted by an investigator to review your SF86, but that would be a routine process for your situation. Tip: If you moved to a different address, don’t show them as concurrent List the date you left your permanent address and the date you moved to your current address. The form does not ask for “address of record.” It requires you to list where you are actually residing. Also, foreign travel for relatives is not required to be listed. Stay well.

I too became a US citizen 3 years before filing my SF-86. But i had resided in the US for 30+ years as a green card holder.

DOE policy is NO dual citizens. DOE requested I renounced my New Zealand Citizenship or my clearance cannot proceed. So i renounced my dual citizenship. Having dual citizenship brings into your question about your loyalty to the USA. I am not sure about DOD position regarding dual citizenship.

My eQIP required me to list ALL countries (with dates) traveled on my foreign passports. My list was very intensive since i am in my old as dirt. This question is a trap because during the interview, my investigation officer asked me how i came up with this extensive list with actual dates of travel, if i no longer have access to my old NZ passports (its a requirement to turn all your old passports in before you can revoke your dual citizenship). I think DOE frowns upon you having physical access to your old (current or expired) non-US passports.

You are required to list all foreign nationals you have close contact with for the past 7 years.

The $15K CC debt is a could be a red flag. My investigator officer listed all delinquent debts on my credit reports. Most were less than $300. I had to provide proof that i paid off all my creditors…even the small medical debts. Check all 3 credit reports!!

You didn’t say anything about your your tax returns. Failure to file your tax returns is an automatic grounds for denial.

You say you don’t have any work experiences but then you list you send $6000 to relatives. So what was the source of that $6000? These are the type of inconsistencies that they will ask about.

You have to list all your work history for past 10 years (but only after age 18). I ain’t sure if they cross reference your work history, or income, with SSA database and/or your tax returns.

Good luck!

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$15000 CC debt itself is not an issue. Being DELINQUENT would be an issue or going to collections. Paying as agreed is fine (with a valid source of income). Paying as agreed with no source of income may be questionable and there may be questions about unexplained affluence.

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