I have worked for the same agency for 10 years, no work issues. I filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2015 due to a number of factors, I did not self-report based on advice from attorney… The bankruptcy alone has raised some other issues… So I hired a consultant to help me address the questions on the SF-85P and Branching questions. He emailed me this morning, and asked me to contact my agency’s HR and ask the following questions. Does this make sense, because I thought the T3 was for Clearance positions requiring the SF-86?
QUESTION for you to ask:
“I’ve been instructed to complete the T2 MBI for a new position, a promotion. My last MBI was in 2013, I believe. I’ve been told that I was due for a PR (Periodic Reinvestigation), anyway. So, I was told to complete the SF85P with Branching Section Questions. If this is the case, and this is for a PR, shouldn’t the case type be simply a T3 NACLC, and not another T2 MBI? I thought the NACLC investigation was the reinvestigative case type for a PR on a T2 MBI.”
See what you can find out and get back to me…Office may be lightly staffed…I’m working through your docs now and was just curious as to why DHS is doing yet another T2 MBI and not the reinvestigation case type for your current T2 MBI which would simply be to request a T3 NACLC on you.
This makes no sense at all, you hired an attorney for a T2 re investigation? Unless your file is wrought with many issues, this was a mistake. A T2 is nothing.
Thank you both. I didn’t hire an attorney, but a consultant (not crazy expensive) and maybe not necessary, but I don’t really understand this process or how hard they look at someone like me. The bankruptcy itself seems like a big deal to me. There are also two things that show from the bankruptcy.
I owed money to the IRS at that particular time. It was really bad timing, because I have always filed and paid my taxes on time. That year, 2015 (2014 tax year) I filed early thinking I was getting a refund, but I mistakenly used the child tax credit for my daughter, who had just turned 17. Not realizing I couldn’t use it anymore, and they sent me a bill. I paid it off in three payments.
Also, 2012 and 2013 were particularly difficult years for me. In 2012, I started drinking a little too often and felt like I needed some help with the problem, so in Dec 2012, I went into rehab at a well known mental health facility. Afterwards, I was very depressed to the point of being suicidal, I checked back into the same facility on Oct 2013. I was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder. Since that time, I have been treated by the same psychiatrist and have been doing great. Throughout all of this, I never had any issues at work. My performance has always been outstanding. People had no idea what I was going through because I have always been great at putting on a happy face. … the only reason that door would have opened up at all, is because I was on a payment plan with that health care facility, and the bill shows up on my bankruptcy file.
So, yes. I guess you could say that my file is wrought with issues. I hope you are right about a T2 as being nothing, because from where I am sitting, even the possibility of loosing my job is devastating.
I did hire someone for help and hope I put my trust in the right person. I was asking for advice, because I don’t know the process. I feel like I’m being criticized, even though that may not have been the intention.
The advice to “not report” the bankruptcy was not good advice in my opinion. This may very well come back to haunt you now. Not the bankruptcy itself, but failure to report. I think seeking help for depression is a good thing. From what I see, and experience, if issues are well controlled it is simply a non issue…but not if you hide it. And yes I understand the sensitivity of reporting such PII. It is hard to speak to non clinical types about any treatment. But I salute you for asking help, getting it, and putting life back together.
Thank you so much. I am in a very good place now, and have been for years. My work performance is fantastic, which is why I am receiving the promotion that brought on the MBI.
don’t worry, I have personally known, seen people with files many times worse than yours get top secret clearances. The best advice I can give you is be honest and own your mistakes like you have been, and maintain a good positive outlook.
We cannot always control what happens to us, but how we respond speaks volumes. Showing that you are able to identify problems and take steps to handle them make a good candidate. The investigator throwing you a surprise party with all the problems you did not list as guests and you pretending you had no idea does not go real well.
