Hi, I am new to security clearance, please give me some advises.
I am going to get an offer from a job, and that job will start a secret clearance process.
My concern is that I was born in Hong Kong and I had foreign bank accounts and investment accounts there (totally about US$200K) before I was naturalized as U.S. citizen 20 years ago. And i did not report to IRS about this account. Those accounts are used as investment only and transfer between my parents and me.
I am willing to close all of them if needed. Will I get denied because of this? Should I simply close all of them before I start the process?
The fact that you have foreign bank accounts is not usually an issue (unless you got or used the money in shady ways). The issue is that you didn’t report it to the IRS. If your name isn’t on the account, you’re probably fine. But if your name is on the account, and it’s over $10k, and you didn’t report it to the IRS, then you have problems. Both IRS and clearance adjudicators don’t like that. Financial issues is a cause of denials.
You’re probably lucky the IRS never found out about it (US and foreign banks do share info). I’m guessing once your investigation starts, assuming your name is on the account, there’s a good chance the investigator will find it. Then you will have more issues than just your clearance getting denied. Something to consider. That’s enough money to be worth consulting an attorney about it.
Thanks a lot for your advice. I realized that it was my fault and oversight that I did not report. I was under the impression that those account were harmless since it was opened before I was naturalized. Do you think being honest and reveal everything help? If they ask me to report back to IRS or to close the account (which I planned to anyways), I will do that too. I am not sure if that’s too late.
I don’t see why they would make you close the account. The account should not be an issue. The issue is potential tax evasion (regardless of intent). Since it sounds like the IRS doesn’t know about it, you are probably ok on that part. But if they find out (and they might if you get a clearance investigation), the IRS could come after you for back taxes - and with a very hefty penalty. Also, clearances can get denied for tax evasion. I think you would have a lot of mitigating (back taxes and penalties) to do to fix that.
I can’t speak for you. But for me, that might not be worth applying for a clearance. You should probably contact and attorney about that BEFORE you apply.