Hello,
I am applying for Border Patrol Agent. I feel pretty good on everything, except I do not meet the residence requirement of 3 out of last 5 years. I was a NEEOISO contract investigator (federal contractor) for over a year and a half of my travel time, and if I get a waiver for that then I hope to meet the requirement.
Since this was a remote position, I decided to go backpacking in Europe, India, and Mexico. What was supposed to start as a 3-6 month trip ended up lasting a little under three years, much of it in Mexico. I would backpack for a week or too, stop in an internet cafe or hotel with wifi to do work for a week or two, maybe a month sometimes, then continue on. The travel was not for the contractor job. It was self initiated, but I had their approval to work from these foreign locations, and they knew.
So I have two question:
1. So now I’m filling out the SF86, and I have no idea how to document this. I maintained a permanent residence in the states (paying rent on a house I visited for maybe a month or two out of the year, a place to keep my stuff and receive mail). But I never really stayed anywhere in my travels for more than 90 days, I kept moving.
How do I document this? I was thinking about putting my home in the states as my residency, and listing my travels under the foreign travel section. But it looks strange to see a trip for 9 months, a short stay in the states for two weeks, then another 6 month vacation.
Is it better to try and remember and list every stop and hotel I went to in the residency section? and what about when I was camping? It’s difficult to remember every single place I went.
2. On top of asking how i would document this on the SF86 in the most honest and transparent way, I would also like some advice on the interview. I know this is going to be an issue, and I would like to go in prepared. How do I present this to the interviewer to show I was just traveling as a tourist and not a resident with foreign connections nor trying to set up residence. What can I bring to the interview to make the investigators job of sorting all this out easier?
Thanks