Hi, I am applying for Secret level clearance and my FSO just told me an investigator will reach out to me. I have a few questions about the process:
Is meeting with an investigator usually towards the end of the investigation?
What is the time frame for the investigator to reach out to me and is the first point of contact via phone/email/address? I have moved and changed address since submitting my eQIP (I have notified my FSO).
Is there anything I can ask to the investigator regarding the stage of my investigation?
Too hard to say. It seems to vary. The investigator could meet with you once, and then several months later, reach out to you again for additional info.
In my experience, they will call you at one of the phone numbers listed on your forms (SF-86/eQIP)
You can ask them anything, but they may not have much info. They know about their piece of the investigation, and what they have to do. That’s about it. They will probably be asking most of the questions.
In a perfect world the investigation would start with you… but I have done investigations where everything is completed before the meeting with the subject has taken place.
Phone calls
You can ask, but the investigator won’t know. Your interview would need to typed up & submitted by the investigator and then it goes through a review process. The whole process is taking an average of 12-13 months… apparently the powers that be are trying to come up with ways to speed things up, but I think people will be living on Mars before that ever happens.
Haha… thanks for the encouraging words. However, doesn’t the investigation start with the subject only for a TS and up? I am in the process for Secret and from what I read, an interview happens only when there is conflicting/needs to be clarified information. I was hoping that meant the investigator is done with his part of the investigation and require a few more details about me.
You are correct in that depending on the clearance level, you the subject may or may not need to be interviewed. But what I was trying to explain was the entire investigation is done in pieces and ideally the subject interview would be the first thing completed, but it doesn’t work that way. For example if you are in the DC area waiting to be interviewed, there is a Huge amount of work & back log in that area. But say you went to college in North Dakota and then worked for a while in Indiana, those parts of the investigation may be completed first, as there might not be a backlog in those areas and an investigator will be assigned to those pieces and complete them, long before someone gets to you in DC. I hope that helps to explain how it can look like an investigation is underway… but it can still take a year to complete. I’m not trying to be “Debbie Downer” but the reality is what it is. Keep working or find a job until your clearance comes through, it will be while. Good luck.
Apparently interviews are not just for TS and difficult S cases anymore. Everyone in my facility going for a S clearance is being interviewed - without exception. Those already interviewed were told by the investigator that this is due to a recent OPM policy change. Maybe that policy change applies only to my facility, who knows.
It’s been a few months since my comment but the subject interviews for T3 investigations continue to be the norm. The investigator goes through each question on the SF86 and then asks all of the new SF86 questions. You’re correct that people being cleared recently, especially those right out of college, don’t always have interviews. The vast majority of us filled out the SF86 in 2016 through early 2017 prior to the new form being released so we’re being asked the new questions. We’ve been in a holding pattern for so long, the info we provided is out of date, references have moved, etc.
