So a little background: position for permanent gov job. Received initial interview session (w/ next interview date etc) in Nov 2016. Interviewed formally in March 2017. All references contacted in June 2017. Its now May 2018. I have a lot of foreign contacts & travelled a few countries. Has anyone else experienced this much of a delay?
What level of clearance? Secret? TS? TS/SCI? all factor in on the answer you seek.
The entire system is having a delay from target times. Its like getting stuck in a traffic jam and yelling out the window āIs anyone elseās car moving slow?ā Foreign contacts and travel do slow the process down though.
1 Like
Search the forum for ālatest timelineā, and you will see the post from the forumās editor on the latest timeline. Secret can take 200+ days and TS can take to 400-500+ days.
1 Like
What is the timeline for TS/SCI do you think?
Fastest Iāve seen recently on this forum and others is about four months. Upper end close to three years. Iād say, based on the limited sample, the average is around 12-15 months.
1 Like
How are these timelines calculated? It is 12-15 months from signing an offer, from submitting the SF, from first contact with BI, from poly/drug test?
Nothing starts until your security forms, different forms for different agencies and levels, are submitted.
Right, it just seems that there is some confusion with self reported timelines since some applicants report their waiting period from the day of signing the job offer, others from submitting the SF. Sometimes the gap between the job offer and submitting the SF can be 6+ months. Sometimes the gap between submitting an SF and being contacted by a BI can be a year+.
Having some sort of formalized poll with specific hiring steps where users could self-report for the specific clearance type and department/company would be very interesting.
2 Likes
I donāt suspect that this is the place for formalized anything . . . Yes, some think that they should start with their offer or their acceptance of that offer. But, if their company waits two months before submitting their SF86, thatās not a clearance delay.
Besides . . . There are no standards. It doesnāt matter when you start counting and the time that it takes Bob to get cleared has nothing to do with the time it takes for Joeās to come through.
My BI started in October 2016 and it has been nine months since my references were contacted. I also have traveled overseas and have foreign contacts. About two months ago, I listened to a podcast with the person who runs ClearanceJobs.com and he said that there was a backup of 700k applications.
Started the process on Aug 2017 SF-86 was submitted in the pipe line. as of May 11 2018 everyone that I listed on the SF-86 has been contacted and interviewed, IE: persons, schools, past employers, places where I have lived in the past. I had my face to face interview in FEB 2018 as well. Now going to 9 months and yet to hear anything back from the FSO as to where in the process things are form my BI at least as for the paper side of the Bi still yet to take the polly
TS/SCI Polly
not sure as to how much longer this will go on
JC
Iām in a similar boat as you, and not at all understanding the delay in being scheduled for the poly.
Itās really a national security risk in itself to have such long waiting times.
Exactly, and itās even more infuriating that the leaders of our country seem to cavort with foreign nationals from countries who are not our allies, with little to no consequence.
Has anyone else experienced this much of a delay? Absolutely.
I met with investigator and didnāt hear a word from anyone for 18 months after that. No Foreign contacts, and this was for secret. I have heard of many, many, people waiting 2 years for a secret clearance.
This is my take. They recruit many people for one job knowing there will be delays. In the end, it is not only about whether you pass the security clearance, itās also about who gets there first. Anyone disagree? If so, why?
So, if itās about who gets there first, is the thinking that perhaps those who get there late may have their job/position revoked/cancelled (because someone also got there earlier)?
I really, REALLY hope thatās not the case, because itās terribly unfair, so unfair, but I have wondered about it ā¦
One of the reason why DOD contractors now is starting hiring spree as the new graduates are coming out in May. Not trying to be sarcastic, but itās how it starts getting like ā¦ a new graduate fresh out of college receiving a lucrative offer and sit out for a year or so for clearance ā¦ by the time you realize, you are behind on your student loan payments. 
, then it becomes a āself-liabilityā that could get you denied for clearance.
So apparently now they donāt even update once you have entered adjudication phase. They are updating all systems to restrict access. Anyone else tried to get further information from them?
To clarify: Iāve done polygraph/other tests, theyāve contacted all my references last year, financials etc. Still nothing.
Iāve know two people who have pulled out the system b/c of the long wait times (they received better offers elsewhere). Really not a good thing.