Hi everyone, I know my question is similar to others on here, but I know it also helps others who may be browsing the Internet and looking for answers.
I accepted a job offer with a DoS contract at the beginning of June 2018 which requires a secret clearance. They told me I could begin working if I received an interim clearance. Today I called the FSO at my contract, and she let me know that my clearance status is “Eligibility Pending,” which I know means denied, but she was adamant to tell me that this does not necessarily mean I’ve been denied an interim. I also have a relative who is an investigator who told me the same thing. But I’m choosing to believe it’s the end of the road for my interim, even though both of them insist I could still get one.
Anyway, the FSO then said that I will either get that mystery interim, OR I will have to wait until my final clearance is granted. She mentioned that my investigation has not been opened yet.
My question is: is the investigation basically a “start-from-scratch” deal? Meaning that there will be new people doing this investigation and that it won’t possibly be shortened, time-wise, since I was getting looked at for an interim first?
I’ve had two secret-level clearances in the past. The first one took about 6 months, and the second about 4.
I know there’s a crazy backlong of clearances, but there always seems to be, so…I’m just trying to get a feel of how long I’ll have to wait. My current employer is accepting resumes for my position, so I want to know if I should tell them to stop for the moment. (it’s a nonprofit, they can do that.)
I’ll start off by saying what others will tell you as well. Do not quit your current job until you have a start date at your prospective employer. That being said, I’ve read a lot about this since I am in the same boat, except my employer let me start before my interim determination. I sent in my SF-86 at the beginning of April and received an Eligibility Pending status in mid-May. Like you, from what I’ve read on here and elsewhere, I believed this meant I had been denied an interim and still have little reason to believe otherwise. However, my FSO, who has done this for a very long time, feels like I can still get an interim. Two and a half months later I had a subject interview with my investigator and my FSO believes I may be granted interim in the coming weeks, though I am not holding my breath. So while I can tell you my story, I can’t quite tell you if you indeed are still eligible for an interim.
As far as the start-from-scratch thing, initial interim determinations are made by your hiring agency, and generally happen as soon as your investigation starts. So those conducting your BI have nothing to do with your interim determination. So yes, I guess you can say you’re starting from scratch. Receiving an interim determination has nothing to do with the length of your investigation.
If I receive an update on my situation, I will post it here so you may gain a little insight since we are in a similar position.
Everyone has a chance at an interim. Doesn’t make any difference to the overall timeline. I was just granted a Secret clearance by another agency and had to start from scratch for DOS. I am coming up on 9 months waiting, I did not get an interim.