I am planning to take the cruise this summer. There are two night stop-over in St. Petersburg. I have TS/SCI /w Poly. Will my visit to Russia as a visitor impact my clearance? TIA.
It will not affect it, however, you are required to report all foreign travel 30 days prior IAW with ODNI guidance.
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Can government shutdown affect process of public trust.
Most definitely need report in advance and having had a worker go on the same cruise…he was required to stay on the boat. Depending on who your client is, their security office can deny your trip. Even after you paid for the cost. Overall, JPASS listed clearances are all compromised and your name on the manifest will be shared with each country. Their intelligence agencies are known for separating and harassing cleared Americans. Particularly Russia and China. And they make no difference between the cleared person or their family member. For some foolhardy people they feel this is an adventure and they want to try their chops faced with a real interrogation. Consider they recently detained an American attending a wedding…I would find this quite scary. Some report being detained for hours and questioned as to what their intent is.
On our compound we have a formal reporting system to log requests and all foreign travel MUST be approved in advance. Obvious countries such as Russia, Cuba and North Korea are discouraged and in many cases prohibited travel.
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Before you buy any tickets run this plan by your security officer. A few years back a cruise where you stayed overnight on the boat was OK (at least for the customer I was supporting) but they have since gone to the “Don’t get off the boat” policy described by @amberbunny
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Will it has an impact on your eligibility, it depends. If you did not disclose and obtain permission from your security professional, definitely and negatively. If you did disclose and obtain permission, it depends. If you decide to get a job with one of those agencies requiring a different type of poly, I can imagine the agencies wouldnt be comfortable granting you access.
Honestly, with the type of clearance eligibility that you have, I would not go. It just is not worth the headache down the road, especially with what @amberbunny says. You will likely need to be debriefed extensively. Nonetheless, I can imagine your sponsoring agency probably wouldnt like the idea given the current climate.
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The OP said he is going on a cruise in the Summer. He has plenty of time to report his travel and get approval. The question was does it affect his clearance, and the answer is no if he follows all protocals for going. I went to Russia last summer for the world cup and had no issues with my cognizant security authority.
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Concur with Marko, it doesn’t automatically cause a problem. As long as you report it and get approval in advance for those with SCi and more indepth reporting required. We have had members experience harassment when they departed the boat, and some had no issues whatsoever. It is a global world economy now so international travel is common.
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Thank you all for taking your time and answering my question. Eventhough international travel is common, given our country’s relations with Russia & NK & China, I am really skeptical about visiting that area. Our customer needs detail itinerary in their approval system. Cruise reservation is easy to cancel before 120 days of sailing, but air travel is difficult unless I can buy insurance. I will consider visiting other parts of world where we don’t have to worry too much on getting approval. Thank You so much.
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I think you are making a wise choice. Russia would have a draw for the art and experiences. Visiting say Cuba and North Korea…hiking in Iran…just does not have enough appeal to overcome the potential questions asked. IMHO.