Question about NSA clearance process

I had mine quite a few years ago you can usually plan on 9-12 months a dod secret is really nothing you can send secret material certified mail. The poly usually comes at the very end. If you have a lot of different jobs and locations you have lived that can slow the process down.

I had a T5-SSBI done as well but was not granted as the job didnt require it later on.
My question is that why isnt my credit pulled and also why I never got a call from an investigator? Can I ask any of the folks at DCSA if they got my file? I understand that everyone else is doing the waiting game as well, just need to know if my file is moving.

Anyone have any idea how long the agency takes for adjudication for an internship? I recently went and did my security interview/ poly / psych. Shouldnā€™t be any glaring issues or red flags so Iā€™m hoping Iā€™ll know by may.

Iā€™m in the same situation. SF86 approved and credit pulled same day, but havenā€™t heard anything since.

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Iā€™m not personally familiar with the IC.gov website, but a lot of these government hiring websites can be somewhat unreliable in terms of how accurate those status indicators are. Somebody in HR has to update them and that task may not be their top priority.

I remember my USAJOBS status being wildly out of sync with reality for many applications, and more than one person who they their status was ā€œNot Selectedā€ for jobs they got hired for.

I suspect any personal updates you get from your hiring POC will be more reliable than the website.

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Same here. Iā€™ve already received a CJO as well as my security form SF-86 was approved 3 months ago but my IC dashboard is still in the Interviewing/Testing step.

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Folks an update, i did check and i had seen an soft inquiry by federal government.
But its been crickets since then. Biggest mystery is what agency is performing the background checks. I am presuming DCSA or else NSAā€™s own employees/contractors.
I would have thought that atleast i would have gotten a call from a background investigator. Fingers crossed and waiting to hear back.

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Just got another update, security team hasnā€™t yet started the process of investigation yet. They are still triaging. It seems for the agency the priority is going to be the summer interns. Right now the security team wants to get them in first.
So have to see how things go.

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I was under a impression that the background investigation happens first and then they call you for Psych/Poly.
Please correct me if I am wrong.
How did it happen with you?

I was able to see mine on equifax. it didnt appear on transunion.

Even mine shows the same. May be thats the same.

FWIW, one more data point to add: one of my references just let me know they had been contacted and set up an interview, even though I havenā€™t heard anything since having my SF-86 approved. Based on everything I had heard this step usually comes after the interview, so it does certainly seem like things are a bit unpredictable :grin:

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Question of my own:

Currently in security processing and recently had to schedule my psych evaluation because the previous one expired - not because I failed it. Whole process has been 2 years. Is re-doing the psych interview a sign that the process is basically done? I think I remember a recruiter telling me in a phone call that they update polys and psychs as necessary at the end of the process.

What is IC.gov ? I have never heard of it before.

Do you have any update on your process or you are still in the waiting?

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I have no update, apart from the credit pull.
All i know was that during summer these guys are really busy with all students coming in.

Waiting over 4 years here. Applied in mid-2019, and was asked to complete a set of tests. The link they gave me was for a DOJ judge exam that expired in April 2015 (wish I was making this up). Asked them for the correct link, and completed the test. Just before the end of 2019, they reached out saying that all the scores were invalidated due to errors in some tests and so we all apparently had to retake the test. A recruiter reached out in mid-winter 2020 with an invite to complete a HireVue interview. In late summer 2020 I received notification that I would be getting a CJO, and didnā€™t receive an actual CJO until late fall 2020. I then completed my SF-86 paperwork on their old eQIP platform that looked like it was last updated in 1995. I was contacted in early spring 2021 to set up appointments in late spring for a Security Interview, Psych Assessment, and Polygraph. The Security Interview went well and the investigator was pleasurable to work with, despite the entire session lasting 6 hours. The next day I headed to another location for my psych eval/ā€œdoctorā€™s appointmentā€ and poly. The interview with the psychologist was very prying, although you can expect this based on the disturbing profiles of previous employees who leaked info or were spies. Polygraph was a horrific experience, and had to come back the next day for another one. The polygraph wizard wasnā€™t satisfied with that one, so I came a few weeks later for a third. I scheduled an afternoon poly for the 3rd round, and as I pulled into visitor parking, a guy who was in the waiting room for my 1st and 2nd polys came out with a big smile and spring in his step, so I knew the third time was the charm, and it was the same for me. Three months later, I received an email from my BI asking for some additional information on a SF-86 item. That was the last sign of life from the security processing phase. None of my contacts or references were contacted. Since summer 2021, Iā€™ve received so many emails from different recruiters saying that they are now my new recruiter. I sent emails to report vacations abroad to receive responses like: ā€œOh, Iā€™m actually not your recruiter anymore, contact this person.ā€ Sent an email informing I returned from a holiday overseas, and it took them 5 weeks to acknowledge it.

I just received emails asking me to schedule a new pysch assessment and poly as it has been over 2 years. Now Iā€™m waiting on their response to my query of why they couldnā€™t complete the investigation and come to a yes/no decision on my FJO. They only had 2-4 years to do it. Iā€™m not letting them play the Covid card: people who applied in 2021 and 2022 already are employed at the Agency. I anticipate that I will be put in a position to ask them to discontinue my processing within the coming week. Iā€™m not spending any more PTO or gas money to play polygraph games and be put in another holding pattern for years. Hope everyone else out there has much better luck!

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Does this mean they canā€™t wait to get out of the recruiting business :slight_smile:

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Give them the last opportunity! I know this year they do have quotas to fill. I think what happened to you was really unfair and your file probably fell through the cracks in the many different HRā€™s hands.

Maybe this is the last part, just to renew your poly and psychā€¦besides, the poly experience you have now can be very different from that before.

Ask them if they have to redo the Bi portion again (interviewing your contacts, verifying employment history, etc).

Also, look at the positive way, since then itā€™s been four years,that means you will at least get extra 4 steps for the extra 4-year relevant experiences(if the CjO offered you was between step 1-5), or, at least two extra steps (if your CJO was for step 5-10)!

Just one more push!!

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Submitting my timeline for reference:

CJO (SWE)- 06/2023
CESP Approved - 06/2023
Soft Credit Check - 07/2023

Background: Received Secret Clearance in 06/2021

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