Secret Clearance: Parents Live in Syria

SECURITY CLEARANCE Q&A
1

Hello there,

I recently accepted a job offer with defense contractor to work as an entry level electrical engineer. The position does not require a secret clearance initially but it may require secret clearance after I begin working there. Below is my situation:

I was born in Syria and moved to the United States in 2012. I became a US citizen in December 2021 and I am recent electrical engineering graduate. My record is squeaky clean. I have no debts, I don’t do drugs and I have not left the United States since I came here (10 years ago). My Syrian passport is expired and lost. I have no properties or any financial obligations in Syria and I am also willing to renounce my Syrian citizenship.

My only concern is my parents who still live in Damascus, Syria. They are both retired and have no ties to any political or religious organization. I filed their I-130 petitions back in January 2022 to bring them to the US and I am expecting their petitions to be approved by the end of the year. So the federal government knows a lot about me and my parents already through our files at the USCIS.

What are my chances of obtaining a secret clearance? Can I mitigate the concerns that may arise based on what I have described?

Your input and feedback will greatly help! thank you!

2

I know a guy who got a secret clearance even though his mother was still in Tehran. She has since come to the US so maybe he was pursuing the same route. So it is possible, based on that one case (and I think Iran is probably a greater concern than Syria).

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3

Thanks for the input. I also know an engineering manager with a defense contractor and she immigrated from Iran as well. So the evaluation is a case by case basis.
Thanks for the confirmation.