Spouse charged with misdemeanor, effect on clearance?

I have a TS/SCI clearance with a federal law enforcement agency, and will be up for reinvestigation in 2 years. My spouse is almost certainly going to be charged with a misdemeanor for indecent exposure (not arrested, but will likely receive a summons).

It’s my understanding that unless I personally have direct contact with police, I am not required to self-report, but I’m sure it will come up in the course of my reinvestigation.

Will this affect my clearance? How does that change depending on whether or not my spouse is convicted? What about a “probation before judgment” decision?

A minor misdemeanor should have no effect on your clearance status. It is not a requirement to report it to the SSO either, but wouldn’t hurt to do so in advance of your next PR.

Dear Investigator,

I currently hold a secret clearance. I had a 7 month relationship with someone who was involved in criminal activity (illegal drugs and identity theft) and was without my knowledge and occurred the in first 5 months of our relationship. I reported all this to my security manager after my failed attempts trying to help them with rehab for their addiction and subsequently ending the relationship which in turn they harassed me and retaliated against me (non-violent) for ending the relationship which led to domestic violence charges (after obtaining a temporary and permanent restraining order). This was also reported to my security manager. They were convicted of retaliation against a victim (me) - (felony) and identity theft - (felony) and has been sentenced to Department of Corrections. My question is if it’s my desire to re-engage in a relationship with this person (convicted felon) in the future with the possibility of subsequent co-habitation and subsequent marriage now that they will be rehabilitated and paid for their crimes (but still on parole) will this decision result in the revocation of my clearance or jeopardize my clearance in any way? The adjudicative guidelines don’t address the significance of relationships, co-habitation and marriage to a felon who recently completed their sentence; only persons involved in criminal activity in which case they will not be. If this doesn’t jeopardize my clearance would I be required to report to my security manager that I re-engaged in a relationship (possible co-habitation/marriage) with a felon if that’s what I decide? Please advise. Thank you!

You will have to report an cohabitation/change in marital status immediately. There is no requirement for you to report any crimes committed by your cohabitant and as long as the criminal behavior has ceased and there is no concern of future illegal drug use then for a secret clearance it should not affect your status. However, in the spirit of full disclosure, I would go ahead and let your security officer know about the situation in writing so that you have a record of it in case it comes up so that it will not appear as though you were attempting to hide it.

Thank you for your response to my inquiry. I don’t have any issues with full disclosure about my situation; I just don’t want someone to come back to me after I disclose my desire and or intent and tell me my clearance has now been revoked or jeopardized because my decision is now a question of my judgment since I re-engaged with someone who has a criminal back ground and who has already put me at risk by partaking in criminal activity while I was associated with them without my knowledge. Can my Security Officer advise me of my options in advance of making any decisions? Also, who determines if there no future concern of illegal drug use? Me? An Adjudicator? My security officer? Please advise. Thanks in advance!

Since I do not know who granted your clearance I cannot say what options you would have in obtaining an opinion in advance. Your security officer is a start, but he does not have a say in the review and adjudication of the information. Evidence of rehabilitation, length of abstinence, and a declaration of no further use by the individual are mitigators for any future drug use concerns.

Can you please help me. I’m a foreign student in the USA. My boyfriend is a government employee and he has a security clearance. I was charged once with a shoplifting, but everything was erased. I got an expungement.
Would it affect him somehow in losing security clearance? And do I have to let him know about if everything was expunged.

A one time shoplifting charge has no impact on the clearance and it is entirely up to you whether to disclose, but be assured it wouldn’t even come up during a background investigation. I do however, hope that he has reported you as a foreign contact as is required by current clearance holders.

Can you please respond…I am in process for a secret clearance and was arrested last week for trespassing on my neighbors property. Everyone I spoke to seem to think this will thrown out as the trespassing was related to leaving a note on the neighbors door to speak about their dogs barking all night. Should I be concerned? Thank you.

A minor misdemeanor charge is no cause for concern if that is all you have. An adjudicator would look at a pending charge and determine even if found guilty that it would not impact eligibility for a clearance.However, you say you are in process, which means this happened after you submitted your application. I would contact the POC who initiated your application and explain what happened so they are aware.

Thank you so much. Yes, I’ve done that and hopefully they are making OPM aware of the situation.

I also have a question. If I worked on a F1Visa. I know it was a violation, but I did payed my taxes. Would it affect my boyfriend if we get married? Does he need to report it in order to not loose security clearance?

It is not something that he needs to report even if he had knowledge since it occurred prior to a marriage and it would not turn up in any background investigation. However, if you are in any type of relationship and are still a foreign citizen then that is required for him to report.

So does he need to tell that I was working while I was studying?

Im preparing to join the Air Force and have a DUI from 9 years ago Thats been taken care of (community service completed/all fines payed, etc).

I have my eye on a job in the Air Force that requires a TOP SECRET (TS) clearance but my recruiter is saying my DUI will prevent me from getting a TS Clearance.

Im also dating a girl who has two DUIs and since we live in California, and she did a hit and run during the 2nd DUI, She was charged with a felony. HOWEVER, She payed all the fines/dud the classes and even went into rehab and no longer has issues. If we do decide to get married, will her hit and run felony affect my ability to get or retain a TS Clearance?

Im also concerned about my driving history preventing me from getting a TS Clearance.
***Will my driving history prevent me from getting a TS Clearance? Heres my driving history for the last 10 yrs:
1 DUI IN 2009, 2 “driving without registration/insurance” tickets, 1 texting while driving ticket in 2013, 1 speeding ticket (going 80 in a 65 on the freeway) in 2014 and 1 ticket for cutting off an officer.
The reason I was caught driving with out insurance/license/registration = I was poor for a long time (because I’d all the fees I had to pay for the DUI), and couldn’t afford registration/insurance.

For a TS, the Police section asks if you have EVER been charged with any offense involving drugs or alcohol, so you would absolutely have to list the DUI, regardless of how long it has been. emphasized text.

For the tickets, read the question carefully because the dollar amount of your fines will determine if traffic tickets within the scope need to be listed.

You do not need to list your girlfriend’s DUI’s on the form or bring that up at all. Just remember to list her as a cohabitant if you move in together.

Will my expunged misdemeanor record show up if I get married to a person with top secret clearance.
I don’t want to tell about this to my boyfriend but I don’t know if they will check this and have access to see expunged records. Don’t want my boyfriend to loose his clearance if we get married