Timeline so far:
Best advice I can offer is to pretend that life goes on and let the investigation run it’s course. Take it from the posts on here and other places that getting a clearance IS NOT by any means quick. Plan on it taking a while and DO NOT pass up the opportunity to work mean time.
There are cases here and there of expedited clearances/timelines but they are absolutely the exception. Case and point: I’m cleared through DoD at TS level. Applied last year with another federal agency and I’m just now about to have personal interview for the clearance. Others are in their 2nd year and that includes for S as well as TS.
Keep your nose clean, stay out of irresponsible debt and let it run it’s course.
I was told awhile ago to take this “Forced” vacation for granted. As going into the work force for the next 35-40 years; I won’t get a break like this again. That being said, I would not mind a lot more transparency. Being told that this can take anywhere from tomorrow to this fall makes me nervous. Today is day 158 since prints and submission.
Hello everyone!
After lurking for months; I have decided to add my situation and maybe get your thoughts on this as well. It’s pretty clear that everyone’s situation seems to be significantly different. Well, here is mine broken down…
About me:
Clearance type submitted - Secret (w/SSBI)
Clean record - Never arrested/detained
Credit - Small credit card debit paid monthly (under 5K)
Fed Student Loans - These loans were in default at one time but have been getting paid monthly and on time for a year+
Timeline:
June 2016 - (Near the EOM) I submitted e-qip
June 2016 - (Near the EOM) Asked to submit proof of payments for student loans. Once submitted, I was told this was no longer an issue
July 2016 - First week my credit reports were pulled from OPM
August 2016 ~ April 2017 - Crickets while employer constantly requests updates from sponsoring agency only to recieve “Pending” as an update
Today (2017/04/24) - Received an update that the intial FBI Name Check may not have taken place yet
Today (2017/04/24) - Called FOIA and was told that my case is “Pending” and that was all he could tell me
Is it possible that the FBI Name Check is backlogged and that once that comes back to OPM the remainder of my process may not take much longer? I would appreciate any of your thoughts and opinions on my timeline thus far. Also, what is the typical process? Credit reports are pulled, FBI Name Check, and then what? I am guessing an investigator takes over to conduct interviews with neighbors, those listed on your SF86, etc…
Thanks and good luck everyone!
@QKW3W Who asked you to submit proof of payments for student loans? I only ask because that is awfully fast to get any kind of action.
Can’t comment on FBI name check but since everything seems to be backlogged I’m sure that process is a mess also.
I was contacted by a security specialist from the personnel security office at the sponsoring agency. I just looked again and my credit reports were pulled exactly 2 days after e-qip submission. That was the last I heard from anyone that wasn’t one of my managers.
I have a question.
I answered one of the security questions incorrectly.
It was
in past 7 years, Have you travel to any foreign countries?
I forgot about taking a roadtrip to Canada for 2 days.
Will this count against me?
I did the same thing, I updated my FSO of the situation and she said she will put it into my case file… I assume that there is nothing else I can do.
What clearance are you applying for?
I worked at a company that has government contracts. One of the contracts required everyone to get a secret clearance. I was denied a interim 3/16 and was placed on temp hold until the investigation was finished. Last week I received a call from OMP asking if I still required a clearance. They are finally going to send my investigation to a local investigator. It has been at least 17 month since this started… At least I finally heard something. I haven’t been able to figure out why the interim was denied. Looked into all the normal issues, credit, criminal, family, etc… nothing really stands out.
Seems like very few interims are granted these days. At any rate, its not like 10-15 years ago when it could take less than a week.
Anyway being denied an interim certainly does not mean you won’t get the final secret.
My story…
Had previous clearance expire many years ago
Applied for secret clearance Jan 2016 (us military)
Investigation started Feb 2016
Investigation still “pending” May 2017
I have not heard one word from anyone. no credit pulled, no one contacted from my sf-86, called OPM only to have them tell me its “pending”.
ummmm wtf over?
Unfortunately this timeline is not terribly unusual these days. You’re at about the 15 month mark which is a bit longer than most, but not at all unheard of.
Did you get an interim clearance? If this is for enlisting in the military, did they let you enlist while waiting for the clearance?
Sorry to hear that but they do seem to be taking a very long time.
I finally got contacted last week by an investigator and it was a little over 22 months from the time it was opened at OPM to the time I was contacted. Based on my conversation with the investigator, it doesn’t look like anything was done in those 22 months and my interview was the first step. The most likely scenario is that it will take another 6-8 months for mine. Yours might be a little faster as it looks like mine was much slower than most.
Has the 2017 Q1 performance report been released yet?
OUCH!!!
(I was going to just say “OUCH!!!” but a post has to be at least 20 characters 
)
I do have an interim for now granted by my unit, but my civilian company is having issues owning the clearance.
Here’s my situation, kind of confusing (to me):
Summer 2008: Received TS/SCI/FS and started working for contracting company A.
Summer 2016: Due to a security mistake at work (my fault), I was taken off a contract and company A de-sponsored me and terminated me.
Fall 2016: Accepted a contingent offer from contracting company B, pending customer approval and successful transfer of clearance.
A month later: Customer approved and just waiting on clearance transfer.
No news all winter of 2016. I’m left wondering why my clearance hasn’t transferred.
Feb 2017: Subject interview. Agent calls and tells me he’s had my file on his desk for months and needs to schedule the interview ASAP since his report is due in 5 days. At this point, I realize my clearance is being re-investigated, which is why it’s taken so long (4 months so far). Agent submitted his report and told me everything looks good for me.
April 2017: FSO at company B updates me that I am in Eval 1 but my case hasn’t been assigned to an adjudicator yet. FSO says there is Eval 1, Eval 2, and then Approval.
May 2017: Spoke with company C about some work and their FSO looks me up and says my TS is good but FS poly is what’s being evaluated. I didn’t realize it was different. Unfortunately, I’ve never seen job postings asking for just TS. Always TS w/ FS. Company C says that since Company B is already working on getting my FS back, it would start all over again if they put in the request for me.
May 2017: Company D is trying to bring me on board and their FSO says they can submit for me but it would just pick up from where it’s currently rather than start all over (different from what Company C above said). The system would say Company B is already submitting me and I would have to just tell them which company I want to take it over.
Anyone else been in this situation?
Update!! An agent requested unofficial transcripts from my college yesterday. Got her name and I can finally see movement. Took them 206 days to do something.
Hope you all are doing well.
I mentioned this elsewhere, but this thread seems to be where all the timelines and discussion happens.
My case was mistakenly dropped by OPM. I submitted everything for a DOE L in early 2016. As of early 2017, no one I listed had been contacted and I was getting worried. As it went from 6+ months to 12+, I was reaching out to HR and my hiring manager monthly/weekly. I was told that everything was still going normally and to expect to have a clearance in a few weeks.
In early April, I was told that an administrative mistake was made and I would have to start over. OPM inexplicably cancelled my investigation. I’ve resubmitted my SF86 and was told by company security to answer “No, I have not been investigated for a clearance before”. I also had to take time off work for drug testing and to travel up to a company location for another round of fingerprinting.
The company is now trying to get us interim clearances, which is very rare and unusual for them. I’m not certain that I’ll get interim; my record is exceedingly clean, but I did list a few foreign contacts (friends from college). I’m looking for other non-secured jobs, because waiting another year or more for this position seems insane.
I’m a recent graduate, so this has gone from unfortunate to unconscionable. I’m a STEM major from a top 25 university with a graduate degree; there’s no way I’m going to wait 2+ years to start at an entry level position. It’s a shame, because this was really close to my dream job. However, I’ve already been underemployed for nearly a year now, as I’ve been at a temp position while waiting for this to work out. All my engineering friends are up for their first annual reviews and raises while I’ve literally moved backwards in the hiring process.