Investigation timeline for TS interim and final clearance

SECURITY CLEARANCE Q&A
1

I understand its little early to ask but I am first time in Federal job and never received any clearance.

This is for position with DOD , I submitted my equip SF 86 on 15 June 2021 but have not heard any thing yet ,I connected with Security person she said to connect with HR and HR said they have not heard any thing yet .

Only thing which Security person has said is my BI has started and it will take some time.

Any suggestion will be highly appreciated on the timeline and how much time it will ususally take to complete BI.

Thanks

2

First thing to understand is that it is something of a two-step process: the first step is the investigation, and the second step is the adjudication. The investigation looks into your background; the adjudication takes the results of that investigation and makes the decision as to whether you are eligible for access to classified info… ie, a clearance.

These days, the investigation part seems to be going pretty quickly, especially compared to a couple years ago. Possibly you will get some word that your investigation is complete… but then the adjudication part begins.

As far as an interim TS goes, I think that is pretty rare. In my personal experience it only happens for uniformed military but others have said they got one. I think some places will grant an interim secret but not the TS. Anyway the key thing to remember is that you could possibly be denied an interim but still get the final clearance.

Hang in there, it may be a while… I’d plan on six months at least!

3

Thanks for the update and letting me know the process actually I spoke to HR and she told me that they are working for my interim so that I can start and the rest of the investigation will continue depending on the situation so I just wanted to know if you have any idea is it what is the timeline for getting the interim clearance for the top security

4

This seems to vary widely. I wouldn’t even hazard a guess but it should be weeks, not months, for you to find out if you have been approved for the interim.

5

June 2021 submission for a stateside Tier 5 with no contact is very unusual for DCSA’s current standards.

Our clock does not start until the investigation is accepted and funded. This is something else you might want to look at.