From Secret to Interim Secret

SECURITY CLEARANCE Q&A
1

Hi Folks,

So I have a question to ask in reference to see my current clearance status is Interim Secret. To give you a little background, I had a Secret clearance and was in process of upgrading to a Top Secret clearance. This was with my previous employer. So, I filled out all the SF-86 paperwork and also got interviewed by the investigator and also my references were interviewed as well. This was back in August 2018. Due to an issue with my client, I decided to quit/resign from my job in end of September 2018. I recently have been applying to other jobs with different companies and one of the FSO that checked my JPAS stated that my clearance status is ‘Interim Secret’. This got me very puzzled and alarmed. I’d like to get some help/clarifications in confirming if during my investigation process of upgrading from Secret to Top Secret, is it normal for clearance status to be switched to Interim Secret? Or did my previous employer decide to just change my clearance to Interim Secret just for the sake of it. I would appreciate any input on this. Thank you.

2

You have an Interim Secret and when your investigation is concluded and adjudicated your clearance will be at the level of Secret. I would not get wrapped around the axle here, it is what it is.

3

Your employer can’t assign you a clearance level in JPAS. That would kind of invalidate the entire process. Are you sure that it wasn’t “interim TS”? If you already held a current, active, Secret, I don’t see how you would end up with an interim secret in the circumstance you described.