New here but have a question. Approximately 8 months ago I was offered a job with a contractor needing ts/sci they sponsored me but we would have to move half way around the country and it has been 8 months or so. Since then a potential new job with an agency has come up and I am testing for them next week. This new potential job would only be about 40 minutes from our home. We have a young family and are not to keen on moving as my spouse does really well where we are also. I finally heard back this week from the contractor job and they want me to come out to East coast for a counter intelligence interview or something of that nature? Anyway my question is if I do pass and get the clearance through the contractor but turn down the job (they told me if I pass I have 90 days to accept job offer or reject) because not wanting to move will I still be cleared so that it may make me more desirable to agencies, etc in my area for instance? I am not sure what exactly will happen with the clearance for me if I turn down the job but obviously hoping the clearance would stay with me per se.
It depends. A couple of years ago somebody reported that they had done exactly what you said and their clearance eligibility was entered into the system of record at the time, JPAS. Most of the time you will have to actually be hired in order for this to happen. Make sure there is no clause in the employment letter that states you would have to repay the cost of the investigation if you leave in less than a certain time period. Why would you do that to a potential employer though? Going through the entire process just to get a clearance without the intention of ever taking the job seems really dishonest.
Thanks for the info velcro. We never had any intention to do that to any employer and we are not certain yet anyway, we are simply looking at all possibilities. We from the start were 100% in on the job. And they specifically told us from the start if you pass clearance we will give you 90 days to accept or reject the job offer. My spouses father has had very serious life threatening medical issues that came up out of nowhere in the last month or so and we have been helping him as no one else is around to do it, also my kids do not want to leave and be away from their friends and family, at first they were excited to move but for whatever reason as the months have gone on and everything they are becoming very opposed to the move. We had no other intentions from the start to do anything other than take this job but things have changed over the last 8 months plus and as I stated we are still considering the job but things have happened to cause hesitation in the last month. I still want the job it pays more than the agency anyway however my spouse with his fathers medical issues as well now is feeling as though we should not leave as well. It is a bit of a cluster right now unfortunately
There could be many reasons for that. As @juju2 said it will require a move hundreds of miles away, the salary could be much lower than the current one he could be making, family issues, etc. So he could be going through the process to get the clearance and then to look for a better opportunity closer to home or whatever the reason might be. Is it ethical? Probably not exactly. Is it illegal? I am guessing not.
Can the agency investigate you for 3 years and then say: sorry, the position had been filled by some other dude who’s investigation completed 2 weeks before you? You bet.
When you apply for a job that requires a security clearance, making honest ethical decisions is at the core. Why apply for a job that honesty is a factor if you are not being honest?
Imagine if the intent of the Agency was never to grant you the clearance, only to use up funding allocated for interviews and background processing. Would you feel that was honest and ethical?
Thank you Velcro and Dima for the input. Perhaps I led to wrong understanding never was trying to hide anything was looking for advice for response to contractor basically. But maybe theres a misunderstanding english is my 3rd language so maybe I worded things incorrectly. Anyway I contacted the contractor recruiter this morning and told him about my concerns and what has come up in the last 8 months or so for transparency. I was informed the initial location in the position has been filled and now the location would be another location in a different state (still far away) that we were not updated on either. He informed me they have a location an hour or so from our home and though they currently do not have my job at that location it is possible they will add it in the future as the location is newer and starting out. So long story short he told me if there is a chance I would take the job that I should continue with the process and he told me if I got the position in the future he would do what he could to get me in the nearer location to our home in the future. So I go from here I guess and see what happens
Good for you. They are willing to sponsor you and offer a job closer to home. This is probably the best outcome.
There are a lot of unknown factors at the time of applying. You might not know the salary or location of the job, that information might not become available before CJO, which could be a long time after applying.
That is fair. The problem arises when you know you are not going to accept the job and are trying to go through the process with one organization in hopes of getting cleared with the intention of working somewhere else. It’s pretty transparent and shows a lack of candor. People have posted on other forums about trying this and they end up wasting their time, the government’s time, and the contracting agencies time and money.
You will not be cleared or have a clearance if you don’t start in that position in system until you actually start the job. Even then, I’ve seen cases where they remove clearances and don’t let you leave with them. They can also only be granting you an “interim clearance” and they don’t go with you until you get a final. My opinion, jump thru the hoops, take the clearance job for a bit then maybe leave and go when the other job opens for sure. You may have to live away from family for a bit but it’s better to have 2 options open.
Hi @bebe1979 . Isn’t clearance with a fed agency (like DOD), not with a specific branch of the gov (FBI, CIA)? How can they take it away?
When you get read on, do you know whether it’s an interim or a final?
They take back their sponsorship of it. Also, Many agencies and jobs have “contingencies” where you have to work for them a certain number of years before they “play nice” with you about keeping your clearances and leaving. DOD, FBI, CIA are all the same, They are agencies or bureaucracies. They control their own clearance processes and rules and can be jerks about it. Being “read on” means nothing. It just means you a are given access to the programs you will be dealing with. The only way you know when you go from Interim to final is either being told such, or being told to come get a badge change because interim and final clearance badges at many agencies don’t look the same.
So when someone calls you and says: you’ve been adjudicated and have a clearance now, come for processing. Do you know at that point whether it’s interim or final or is it always interim at the beginning?
That sounds pretty final to me.
The job requires the clearance, not the person.
The government owns the clearance, not the person.
If you don’t follow the rules (those are the contingencies), you don’t keep your cleared job. Pretty simple.
That could still mean Interim. You wont know it’s final until they tell you or you have someone look it up.