Hi,
I had a secret clearance and I was part of a mass layoff.
In trying to get new employment that requires clearance, I was greeted enthusiastically
by recruiters due to my resume, but then I would not get calls back. One company’s FSO
took the time to tell me that my prior company had not renewed my clearance and that looks
bad to an FSO. Supposedly my clearance is good until Dec 2017 according to a few I’d spoken with.
However that FSO said that since my prior company had not put in for a renewal after ten years, that
looks bad. He told me the best bet was to try to find work in the private sector and that he felt
I had maybe a 15% chance of getting another job requiring secret clearance. I’ve since spoken with
him again and he said it was just that my prior company had not renewed and that is just the
way it is in the clearance business.
Meantime, a company requiring clearance for a military client sent me a job offer. So when I go to work
for them in the next week or so, will I have an active secret clearance? If so, will it expire in December and how can I personally check that? Do clearance holders have any rights at all to check what is in their record?
Is it possible this company might hire me and “use” me until my clearance expires and not renew it? Does it cost anything to renew?
Your new “sponsor” will request a cross over. If you are under 10 years from close of BI you can cross over to most agencies. They may request a new SF 86 on top of the cross over request. I don’t see how it is any reflection on you that the FSO didn’t request a re-investigation. If there is no derogatory info there is nothing to fear. Likely the FSO was informed of pending layoffs. They didn’t want to expend valuable time submitting people who may be laid off. You will need disclose that on the SF 86. It isn’t a foul against you if it was a routine business cycle fluctuation. I have submitted cross overs for people close to 5 years closing date on BI. Technically they could cross over but the client chose to re-investigate with a fresh SF 86. I would submit and send in a crossover and re-investigation request.
There is a cost to the agency sponsoring you but it is a few hundred dollars in most cases.
As for all you other questions, can’t really say. Take the job, hope they put you in for an update.
Ok, thank you for the info.