I got tentative job offer in US Army Cyber Command which said I would get the job after I obtain secret clearance on May 25 2018. I submitted SF 86 around June 13 and I get informed that OPM has started my investigation on June 20. My credit was pulled from Experian only on June 26 2018 ( Equifax and Transunion were not used for credit pull and I knew that because I looked through all 3 agencies credit report on July 3 2018).
My wife got mail to verify my unemployment/self employment and she sent it back on July 2. No other references has been contacted.
I was kind of told that I would get the clearance decision very fast and I should be ready to relocate. It looks like the US Army Cyber command is doing priority based background check processing on my case.
I was anticipating to get the secret clearance result in 3-4 months time . It has been just 23 days since I submitted SF86 documents. I would appreciate if there is some guidance on when can I expect to get the secret clearance decision.
Geez, every couple days we get someone who joins the site and expects people waiting years on clearances to tell them how long their clearance is going to take, that started a month ago. Read around, you’ll get an idea.
I was told that I would be a priority and be “expedited”. It’s been 21 months and I haven’t even had an interview yet. It’s difficult to say how long your’s is going to take. Be patient.
6 to 8 months is the norm; however, yours does appear to be getting priority consideration already. That is a fast turnaround on contacting people and looking into credit. Normally I see waits of 2 months just to start. It isn’t unusual to see the BI wrap up fast but you wait on the decision. If there isn’t any negative info to adjudicate it goes faster., using geology as a time reference. Fast would be anything under 6 months. Normal would be 6 to 8 months and “not unheard of” would be 12 to 18 months for Secret. In other words don’t sell the house just yet or quit current employment. Wait until you receive positive notification and instruction for the new duty location.
You are already going super fast from what I can tell, but I don’t think I’ve seen any examples of investigations taking less than 6 months for secret.
Thank You so much for the all the information you have provided. I have seen some of my friend getting Secret and Top Secret Clearance within 3-4 months in 2017 and early 2018. It seems like the position the applicant applies for and the urgency for the need of that particular employee are the major factor to determine if agency wants clearance to be done ASAP.
lmikelowrey, I humbly would like to state that this is my first experience trying to obtain any kind of clearance for the public service. My curiosity level may have increased in an undesirable manner. I have read the various other post and now familiarized with the speed of the clearance process and the waiting game it involves.
I want to thank you so much for giving me insight on this matter.
Based on my my friends case, I can definitely say that even federal agency have need and desire to hire employee quickly. The HR of the hiring agency can inform you the truth whether you are really going to be cleared within 3-4 months or you have to wait. The agency do have to pay priority clearance check fees to the background check agency/Department and HR is the point of contact to tell exactly if they paid extra money to get you on board faster… This is just my observation.
Thank you so much amberbunny for your input on my curiosity. This is my first job offer from federal government and my nerve seems to have taken over me completely.
I was told and I have seen secret clearance and Top secret clearance can be finished within 3-4 months if the agency pays priority service charge to the background processing agency. Only the HR of the hiring agency and the manager who is hiring will know if the hiring agency has paid that priority service amount.
Anyways, I want to thank you so much for your guidance on this matter to me.
Well I apologize if I came off rude. There are people that create an account and come to this site and ask the same question, “how long will my clearance take.” As others have already responded it takes time, and everyone has a different timeline. Then there are people like myself who have held a clearance while serving overseas but still have to wait a very long time to get cleared again. Good luck to you, I didn’t mean any disrespect. I just meant if you search around (which i think you have) there are a lot of timelines/estimates posted from this question being asked a lot.
Mine could be the case where the beginning appears to be going super fast and it slows down afterwards. Anyway, I will inform if I get noticed of any new progress happening in my case
I have an update on my matter. I got a casual phone call on July 13 from the agency informing that my case is now with the management and I should expect my clearance results within next 5-7 business days. Now if I get favorable clearance result how sooner can i start the job. Does it take few weeks for paperwork?
Based on my observation of various cases, I can give following valuable advice on background investigation.
Do some maths about how much credit card balances/education loans / car installment / home installment is on your name ( Dont worry if u are late on payment for now)
If u are on debt or u are late on payment on any of the matter contact a lender who offers personal loan
Make a new personal loan account and accomodate all your loans/debts in that loan account. Try to negotiate on a monthly installment which u can afford.
Just make sure, that u are current on this new personal loan and u have made timely payment for atleast 3-4 times. This should happen before ur adjudication starts so that u can tell the investigation party that u are rectifying all the problems in ur life. This loan handling is the most important aspect in your clearance process.
5.Unless u have not been jailed, minor offence/traffic violation and occasional marijuana (before 6 months) dont hamper ur case. Its also important to remember that investigation process is more liberal towards confidential and secret
Hi backgdinvestigator, the background initiating agency has informed me that investigation is over and the case is with management and I should hear in 5-7 business days about the final decision.
How many days do I have to start the job if I get favorable decision on clearance? And how soon can someone start the job after the background investigation is over.