I have an active secret (DOD). Recently, I am in my native country and I used foreign passport unknowingly that it could raise an issue. After while, the company told me that I SHOULD NOT USE ANY FORIEGN PASSPORT, and I might get CI screened again or even worse not get screened and unable to go overseas for the job !!!
I did not know until they told me that even entering any country is not allowed with foreign passport, but I was reading that " A foreign passport is permissible for entering or exiting foreign countries – theoretically even third-party countries that the clearance-holder could enter or exit on either passport – but it can never be presented at a U.S. border crossing ".
So, when I left US I handed my US passport and foreign passport to airline agent, so I do not know how could that affect my clearance?
By using a foreign passport, you made it look like you didn’t want the U.S. government to be able to follow your movement.
Let’s say that you fly NYC to Paris and present your U.S. passport to get into the EU. Now you take a train to Lyon and get on a plane to Cairo. This time, you present your foreign passport. You can now travel all over the Middle East and the U.S. thinks that you are still in the EU. If you return through France and use your U.S. passport to return to the country, the government, who is trusting you with its secrets, has no idea where you have been.
See the problem?
I don’t believe that the company told you “after a while” not to use your passport. You were told before even if you missed it. I think that you are going to have a problem.
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I have told them beforehand that I will travel to middle east, its just the case of which passport I have should used. I did not want to US passport for native country entry to stay low profile and not get any attention!!! THAT ALL.
That doesn’t really matter. If you told them about your travel plans, I’m sure that there was some sort of briefing that should have included passport usage.
Personally, I don’t think that cleared personnel should be traveling to anywhere that requires that low a profile. The only people that would have needed to know you were traveling on a U.S. passport would have been at the border crossing. You could have used your foreign passport at the hotel or anywhere else that you needed ID.
I would self report to the FSO. Be humble. If it truly was a misunderstanding or you thought it best …I do not think it was, as you mentioned wanting to maintain a low profile… I recommend self reporting to the FSO. It MAY be something you can mitigate. It likely generates a re-investigation. Ed captured the essence of the problem above.
I did report it to FSO and other staff about my travel, they all know beforehand. It looks like I have committed a felon. DAMN
When we talk about “self-reporting” we are not asking if you reported your travel before hand. You need to inform your FSO now that you used your foreign passport.
Are you stationed out of the country for work? If so, this is going to be an even bigger issue. If you are traveling or based outside of the U.S. on your contract I am absolutely certain that you were briefed on this subject.
You didn’t commit a felony. You violated the obligations of your security clearance and it may be revoked. There will not, based on what you have said here, be criminal charges.
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Ed is correct. You gave them reason to now doubt your trustworthiness. I would expect the FSO to generate Adverse Reporting. This in turn requires a Re-investigation. This will be scoped out, you will be interviewed. Lay it on the line. Tell them everything, hide nothing. And don’t do that again. You indicated a foreign preference in using the passport. That does call into question your loyalty. I’m not saying you are disloyal, merely you put it in the “up for questioning” box.
I will tell them everything regardless, I know myself as sincere person. Sure I will not use the foreign passport anymore. Once this dilemma is over, I may destroy it.
While you still need to report this to your security officer, I would suggest you to consult a security clearance attorney.
I reported to FSO weeks ago in writing and on the form about the travel, purpose, and used document.