Yesterday I found a business card on my front steps and called the investigator. I am going through a T5. The investigator told me that he needed to talk to my wife concerning my investigation. It seemed a little odd since I wasn’t aware that they interview spouses and none of my co-workers had ever had their spouses interviewed as part of their investigation. I am wondering how common or uncommon this is.
The rest of the story is that she is my soon-to-be ex-wife. We are separated and have been for quite some time, which I told the investigator. She and I are currently working through a custody agreement and it has been rather contentious. Finally, she has made several threats that she would try to derail my security clearance if given the chance. While there is nothing she could realistically disclose that would affect me, she could certainly muddy the waters and maybe bog things down.
I guess there is nothing I can really do but let the system work. Still, I’m curious about how common it is to interview spouses (and soon to be ex’s.)
For TS clearances if you list you are divorced or separated during the scope of the investigation (10 yrs) then the former spouse is interviewed as a part of the investigation. The only other time a spouse is interviewed is if they are the only ones who can verify periods of self employment or unemployment. Adjudicators know the potential for exaggeration, volatility or discourse and would need other source corroboration for any issues brought up by a former spouse in order to establish a concern.
I am in the process of divorcing my husband. He claims he is going through investigation for TS but he told them not to interview me. Everything I have read they will automatically interview me. Is this true? He supposedly started the process before I filed for divorce. Is it possible they don’t know about the divorce. I have read conflicting information on whether or not they interview spouses for TS but read they always interview ex spouses. Does anyone know?
If he is undergoing the process for a TS then it is incumbent upon him to provide that information about the divorce during his interview. More then likely it would be discovered through other sources anyways. Normally only ex spouses within the last 10 years or since the last investigation are interviewed, but with the new Tier 5 they may go ahead and interview you even though you are still technically married. He has no say so as to whether you are interviewed or not.
He is claiming now that he already has the TS clearance. Is it possible he didn’t disclose our divorce? I am concerned he had his girlfriend pretend to be me if they did a phone interview and that I could get in trouble down the road. He is known for coloring outside the lines at times. Will they do an in person interview or could they have possibly pretended she was me by phone? Could he be lying about TS clearance or could he have gotten clearance without them interviewing me? To my knowledge none of our mutual friends or family have been contacted either. Also, when he started the process he had very little debt but has accrued $60,000 in debt in 4 months. Wondering how that will play into his clearance as well
As the spouse/former spouse of a security clearance applicant you can not get in trouble if the applicant provided false information that led to the wrong person being interviewed. He is the subject of the investigation whom filled out and signed the form, therefore, he is the liable person, not you. In fact, you as the spouse, are under no legal obligation to cooperate with opm investigators.
It is not your responsibility and you are only going on information he provides which may or may not be true or accurate. Best to just let it go and not worry about it until if and when you are contacted for his investigation.