Hi guys. I know the whole situation with USIS and the revoking of their contract, however, I cannot really get a good idea of what the process is like now. I submitted my E-QIP on June 26, 2014 and had an in person interview (with a USIS investigator of course)on July 25, 2014. I am a prior Secret clearance holder from my time in the US Army. I have two mitigation issue; a DWI in 2007 (that was on record when i was granted a secret in 2008) and a small tax lien filed by NYS iao $652 in 2011 (it was only active for 3 months). The tax lien was due to an error filing my 2010 but I worked with NYS getting it resolved. I received an honorable discharge in 2011 (did my term and got out).
However, since the interview, I have heard nothing. I contact OPM and all I can get out of the is “your status is pending.” I am very frustrated by the whole process as I received my offer in early May of this year. Can anybody offer any advice or insight as to what goes on with the investigations that were in process with USIS? I know everyone is really busy but i would appreciate any help. Thanks in advance guys!
Hawk,
Has OPM verified that your investigation is still under their purview? If they have not yet closed the investigation and forwarded the results to your requesting Federal agency, then it’s unfortunately likely that OPM may have to redo your case due to USIS being involved.
On the other hand, if OPM has transmitted your results to the agency, then you are in the final stage otherwise known as adjudication and you should call your FSO to see what’s going on. Your two issues do not appear to be significant and should be able to be easily mitigated.
Hang in there.
Skywarner,
Thanks for your quick response. Sadly, i did reach the Department Of Energy and they didnt receive my “packet” yet. However, that was about two and a half weeks ago. As such, OPM reports my packet as “pending”. I would just like to know if my packet has to get redone through another investigation agency (which looks like that is the case) what an estimated timeline is. I realize people have been waiting much longer than I, but three months with no information after my sit down interview with an investigator is a very long time. Unfortunately, the FSO at my future place of employment has pretty much removed himself from the equation. The people that I am going to be working with directly in the finance department at my new place are helping me as best they can. They did however state that there are quite a few people in exactly the same spot as me. So sadly, I really am just looking for some information on how long (estimated) the re-investigation process is going to take. Any idea??
Hi Hawk,
Your experience with an FSO mirrors what many of us have also regretably experienced. To be honest, there is little that a security officer can do while your investigation remains within OPM. The entire process is nebulous at best and can be very frustrating. Unfortunately, the USIS fiasco has only worsened the situation for many.
My guess is that your investigation is in the process of being redone by either OPM internally or reassigned to an alternative contractor. Timeline is anyone’s guess, but it could be several more months in all likelihood since you may need to be re interviewed. My suggestion would be to call OPM, lay on the charm, and very politely ask if your investigation has been reassigned yet. OPM wIll occasionally offer some additional info if you are overly nice, the planets are in alignment, etc.
Thank you so much Skywarner. Sadly, i did reach a real person at OPM, was very polite, filled out the appropriate paperwork and still got no answer. All she could tell me was that my package is “Pending.” No additional details were given. She was unable to tell me if it was re-assigned, if i had to be re-interviewed NOTHING. The worst part is my offer expires in two weeks (company policy to rescind offers after 6 months if a clearance isnt granted). Im kind of in a bind on what to do, i have never encountered something like this before. I dont mind being proactive in the situation, but its kind of hard to do that when you cannot get an answer from anybody.
Agencies and contractors are acutely aware of the USIS fiasco and the subsequent delays. If you can get your hiring manager to talk to your HR recruiter, the six month window shouldn’t be a real issue. I wouldn’t be surprised, in fact, if they extended it another month or two all on their own anyway. In any event, call/email your future boss and HR and mention “USIS,”