I am going to retake my Full Scope poly for a three letter agency tomorrow morning. The first time I went last week it lasted 3.5 hours. I was accused of falsifying information on my SF-86 and then after a 2nd round I was accused of omitting information from my SF-86. Neither were true. I wanted to see if this was just a part of the game they play to get a potential confession, true or not? Also if I were to fail this poly would I lose my current TS/SCI with a CI poly clearance?
This is like 90%+ of the scenarios. If you get invited back, ur chilling. Just make sure are telling the truth and have the willingness to keep going back and eventually you will be met with success. If you look through this forum or reddit (I think you posted there as well), you will see how common this happens. I have taken the poly 4 times (two times, two processes) and only the most recent did I finally pass.
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Being told that you lied on SF86 is a direct accusation.
Usually if they are guessing, they just say that you are “having reactions to certain questions”.
Is there anything that is in the grey area on your sf 86?
Nope. I just went through a BI to renew my TS/SCI. I am going for a new position and the customer wants fresh investigations for people going for initial FS polys
Out of curiosity, what subreddit are you talking about? I have found that this is the only place people are willing to talk and answer questions honestly.
It’s r/SecurityClearance
Possibly. It could also be a problem when you go up for renewal. Some people say that you can’t lose a clearance based on a poly, but I’ve seen cases where a certain customer may not allow you to work on their programs. And depending on where you work, that can be pretty much the same thing as losing a clearance.
I’ve heard people claim to have been accused of all sorts of things during a poly and eventually passing. At least they did not accuse you of “countermeasures” (AKA trying to beat the box) which is one thing they take a very dim view of.
That is what I thought it was. That place is mostly filled with people who claim you “can’t talk about it at all” and unhelpful.
Ah. Did they ask you similar questions the 2nd time? Also did they confront you about certain questions?
The CIA and NSA use a polygraph technique called the Relevant/Irrelevant Test. In this technique, initial applicants are routinely and arbitrarily accused of deception or withholding information and are badgered for admissions.
Applicants who make no disqualifying admissions are typically invited back for a re-test the next day, where the process is repeated.
Typically, if no disqualifying admissions are made during the second session, a third polygraph session will be scheduled at a later date.
It’s important to bear in mind that none of this has any scientific basis.
If you ultimately are deemed to have failed the polygraph (no disqualifying admission is required for this outcome), or worse, if the polygraph operators opine that you used countermeasures, you can end up losing your existing clearance.
It’s also worth noting that candid discussion of polygraph matters is not allowed on the subreddit r/SecurityClearance.
UPDATE: Looks like I passed it. Took it again yesterday and the new tester asked a few follow up questions before the test. He said it looks good to him. Gave the typical control has to review it stuff as well.
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Congrats! It was quite nice when I got the notif that I passed after taking the poly several times. Full steam ahead!
High five! Now you can join a bunch of us in the adjudication waiting lounge.
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Well weird since it’s technically an initial investigation since the agency wants all new applicants for the position to go through it I think I have my ESI after. Crazy since I just had my TS/SCI officially re upped a few months ago lol. I had a CI poly for that one but that was back in 2019.
Congrats! Feels good i know.
What is ESI?
ESI - Enhanced Subject Interview. The interview you have with the investigator when going for a clearance or doing a re-investigation.
so you are having you interview after the poly?