I’m processing for an IC agency for a TS/SCI position.
EQIP submitted: first week of December
Request for more info: Second week of December
Credit Pull: Mid January
I called my recruiter today and checked to see if they had any updates and they said that the Security Office is still reviewing my forms.
I know my recruiter can’t see everything, but I found it odd. I thought that the credit pull meant that my forms had finished being reviewed and they had handed it off to a BI, but I must have thought wrong.
Is the credit pull done independently of investigation?
It normally takes far more hours than most understand to get an SF86 or Equip form ready for submission. People laugh when I tell them my department invests well over 8 hours per form. As they needed more info you likely left a few things out or needed to clarify items. I get forms back in miserable condition. Missing jobs, residences, dates, contact info, or listing drug use not included in the interview, or financial issues they did not talk too. Each requires research and going over the form with a fine tooth comb. Easily takes 2 weeks to process a form as I may have 15 others I am also working on, calling for more info, etc. I do this in an effort to not get forms kicked back from the client clearance office and have an excellent track record. Once we get it scanned to them, it takes an easy 2 months to open the case with a BI person. So I would not think the system reflects actually starting until March. From there you will have an 18 month to 24 month wait.
I just now went through what I call the “dead letters office” file. SF86’s where we had several engagements with the applicant, but they wait weeks in between responding. Now the signature pages are 6 months to a year old. I just annotated them and moved them to the dead letter file. Meaning HR will hold the disposition tracking form, but the SF86 goes into the burn bag.
Meaning after multiple attempts to leave messages, send emails, or talk on the phone, or meet in person they still did not properly fill out all areas of the form. So eventually I quit devoting time to them.
It is a mystery. I think a lot of applicants are only looking for subsistence wages. So when any other job calls, off they go. Or the ones with significant finance issues don’t really want to fix the issues. I see it as a sign of quality in the applicant. If they have great difficulty understanding or comprehending (reading) the form, admittedly some is stilted language…but won’t properly answer the form after repeated contact from us…I recommend to the manager team to move on.
Remember who we are talking about . . . This site, in general, gets the exceptions. People whose clearance process is suffering extensive delays for one reason or another but the members are still willing to keep working through the process instead of just moving on to other employment. At the same time, there are people out there who may be put off by the process. Too many forms, too much effort when there are other opportunities that don’t require all of that. People who assume that if they don’t hear right away they aren’t getting the job and all sorts of other people.
Members here are far above the norm but that doesn’t mean that many other types don’t apply for these jobs.