Hi, I signed up here because I have a weird situation.
I’ve been in the process of getting a clearance for a top secret position and something pretty weird happened. For background, I have not travelled outside the country in the last 7 years and said so on my SF86 and in the interview with the investigator at my location. A little while later the investigator calls me and said that it was uncovered that I had traveled outside of the country for my last school (university), which would have been within 5 years ago. This absolutely did not happen, and denied it.
I’m blown away by this. I’m trying to stay calm and be smart about what I do. I’m mainly wondering if it’s a good idea to contact a lawyer who specializes in this area. I’m also wondering if it’s a good idea to talk to my boss and/or tech lead about this, my job (contractor) is expecting me to get the clearance. I was also thinking about calling the school.
I’m scheduled for my polygraph in a little bit.
Anyways, I’m just posting this because I’m bewildered about what to do.
Calm down. The information could have came from anywhere. It does not have to be credible for you to be confronted with it. Information can be developed from a record, or a source. Keep in mind, source’s sometimes give bogus information. When discrepancies are developed you are given the opportunity to comment. If it was a big issue then your passport would be reviewed and additional sources questioned. One source with a bad memory is not going to make or break a clearance.
Holy overreaction. I guarantee one of your friends/coworkers/neighbors just has a bad memory or is confusing you with someone else. All you have to do is say “I disagree with that information and have not traveled anywhere as previously discussed”.
Take a breath, this is not a big deal. I’m guessing one of your associates (friend, coworker, neighbor, etc) misremembered something and said you had traveled.
If you didn’t, you didn’t. Investigators come back to you to get your input. If you’re being honest, you don’t have anything to get upset about.
I once had a neighbor say that the individual under investigation worked for {Insert 3 letter agency here). I had to go back to the individual and ask if they had ever worked for XYZ. Answer was no because they had been Agency ABC for 20 years.
Sources sometimes have misinformation and share it with investigators.
Thanks for calming me down. Do you think it would be a good idea to contact any possible sources they interviewed about this? Maybe it would get the source to correct the info.
Let it go. Sources will not be re-interviewed. The investigator is not going to rewrite the report. That is not the process, it is not how it’s done. The correct protocol has already been followed. You have been confronted with the information and given the opportunity to comment on the information. That’s the protocol. It’s done now. Calling all your sources, asking them what they said and trying to correct and control your investigation is just going to make you look like a crazy person to all your references and it won’t change your investigation for the better.
I seem to recall a similar situation which happened with a friend some years back. In his case, it had to do with a study abroad program that fell through-- however the college had no information on the cancellation. Despite providing his passport which showed no visa stamps for that time (and there should have been some), it took several months to clear the matter up.
