Mr. Henderson, you seemed to be quite knowledgeable on security clearance and thought of asking you a question. If you send in your SoR with the option of having the adjudicater make a decision based on written records, can you change your mind at a later time and go to a hearing? That’s providing your response fails to mitigate the issue. Thanks much!
Heval: No, but if you request a hearing then change your mind, a later request to have your case decided based solely on the written record (at DOHA this is called a FORM response) might be approved. Whether you select a hearing or a FORM response, you will have an opportunity to provide additional evidence (beyond what you provided with your SOR response) for the DOHA administrative judge to consider. Choosing to do a hearing or a FORM response depends largely on the issue(s) involved and whether there is a strong need to have witnesses present oral testimony. Generally for an issue like financial considerations when strong documentation of mitigating evidence is presented, a FORM response is usually almost as good as a hearing. I have recommended FORM responses to some my clients because it is less expensive and in some circumstance just as effective as a hearing. Issues related to honesty and integrity are usually best presented at a hearing. If you have received an SOR, I strongly recommend you seek professional help right away. It’s false economy to do the SOR response yourself, then hire a consultant or attorney to do your FORM response or hearing.
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Mr. Henderson, thank you so much for taking the time to eleborate on your answer! Really appreciate it. I did get an SoR and in my case it was the Foreign Preference issue. I wrote the letter myself and included some reference letters from my supervisor and family and friends. I wish I messaged you when I got my SoR. Had I known, would’ve definitely seeked help from an attorney. Are you a practicing attorney and is it possible to contact you directly via email?
Thank you.
Heval . . . A few questions about how you handled your response . . . Did you request a hearing or a FORM? Did you read the Adjudicative Guidelines that were in your package and, specifically, the mitigating factors for the section on Foreign Preference? Did the reply that you wrote and the references that you provided address these mitigating factors?
Remember, you are opposing a lawyer. A judge will not see your response to the SOR until later, during the hearing. You are very likely to get a denial and have to deal with a hearing. I would suggest meeting with a lawyer, most should give a free consult, and get some idea of his/her thoughts on your case.
Ed, thanks so much for weighing in and your guidance. I did review those guidelines and provided answers that I hope will mitigate. Some of my references corroborated the points that I made in my response as well. I am on a tight budget and that’s why couldn’t hire a lawyer to do it for me and my FSO told me that I could do it on my own, so I just did my best and now waiting to hear back. I wish that now a lawyer who specializes in security clearance could review what I sent and provide me with his/her opinion. I picked the option of having the adjudicative judge make a decision based on written record but I guess I made a big mistake with it. I wish I picked to go to a hearing. It was my misunderstanding though, I thought if you picked the hearing, the SoR becomes meaningless and you show up and make your case in front of the panel. Well, appearntly, you respond to SoR and if yours answers don’t mitigate then the one of the two options become available to you. Anyway, this is where I am now. Thanks again!
Heval: I am not an attorney; however, I help people with clearance eligibility problems. I’ve prepared Interrogatory, SOR, LOD, and FORM responses, as well as successfully represented applicants at DOHA hearings and personal appearances. E.O. 12968 permits applicants to be represented by counsel or other representative. Most agencies use the terms “attorney” and “personal representative.” If you want to contact me directly, just google FEDCAS.
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This thread seems like a good place for my question.
I had a TS/SCI w/ CI Poly through DOD, I joined a contracting firm, got put in for FS poly, passed the poly but got an SCI denial afterwards, responded to the SOR, denial upheld, requested in person panel, denial upheld.
My Army records and afaik JPAS, just say security eligibility = “Denied by Central Adjudication Facility”.
Will I ever receive an SOR for my TS? If so how long does it usually take? My in person panel was in August.
Is it possible I’ll never receive an SOR, and they’ll just revoke my TS? Is it revoked now? I’m so confused. Sorry.
So the SCI was denied but they haven’t taken any action on your TS clearance? As I understand it there are some circumstances where they will deny SCI access but allow you to maintain TS. Not sure if you fall into that boat. Hopefully someone with some experience in this situation can chime in. Best of luck.
I think my situation is similar to yours.
I have a TS SCI w CI Poly because of my position with the Navy Reserves. I was put in for a FS on a contingent offer with a contractor. 2 years later got an email from the contractor stating the government disapproved the ISSA/TS clearance.
Did failing your FS cause you to lose your TS?
I honestly don’t know. I haven’t heard any word on my TS. All I know is I was denied SCI by the IC agency, and now my JPAS says Denied.
I got a letter from the Army, basically just saying I’m flagged for the denial.
I’m worried about contacting the Reserve security office, because I don’t want them to kick me out of the IRR for no longer being MOS-qualified. I don’t know if they’d try to help me get my clearance back, or just kick me out.
So you had a TS SCI previously with the Army, but then received a denial when you went for a FS?
Did you already receive your Statement of Reason? If so, how soon after did you get a letter from the Army?
Does your current job require a clearance?
Correct, I had my TS/SCI w/ CI Poly in the Army, went in for FS after I left the Army to join a contracting firm (but I was still in the inactive reserves).
I received the denial in January, I was let go from the firm in February, I received the SOR shortly after, my lawyer and I responded sometime in March. We requested an in person panel as well. The in person panel eventually got scheduled for August or September?, denial was upheld both times. The Army knew about the denial since about March or April when my online human resources record said Denial, but they didn’t send me the ‘flag’ for the denial until this month.
I’ve been unemployed for about 10 months now, I’ve just been living off the GI Bill, getting my master’s in cybersecurity.
Sorry to hear that. May I ask what was in your SOR, or what your denial was for?
During the Poly I admitted to illegal downloading of music, movies, and video games from 2001 to June 2017.
They asked me how often, and what the media was valued at, and I wildly overestimated, saying about a movie a week, an album a week, and maybe a video game every 2 weeks. I valued the movies at $10, the albums at $15, and the video games at $50.
They added everything up and claimed it exceeded $30,000, and I illegally downloaded while having a clearance.
They hit me with the criminal conduct guideline. I’ve never been charged, I deleted all illegal material from my computer, vowed to never do it again, and admitted to all of this myself.
I don’t think your issue was the downloading itself it was the fact you continued to do it even after obtaining a clearance.
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So . . . what do you think that the actual value was? Why does it make a difference? Downloading is a crime. I’m sure that you knew that at the time. You continued to do it while you were cleared.
Did it come in a n ordinary letter or by certified mail with a required signature?
William, I’m a DoD CTR and expecting a SOR soon. Are you saying that my response to the SOR will NOT likely result in a favorable outcome without a hearing? (i.e. it can’t be considered mitigated by the response alone and will go direct to hearing?)
Note: I plan to request a hearing anyway, pending the exact items listed, but would much prefer to avoid it with a strong response.
Thanks.
Rueben,
A contractor employee’s SOR response is addressed and sent to DoD CAF, but no one at DoD CAF reads it. The SOR response is simply forwarded from DoD CAF to DOHA, where it’s read by a DOHA staff attorney (Department Counsel—DC). If the SOR response fully mitigates each and every security concern listed in the SOR, the DC can recommend to the DOHA Chief DC withdrawing the SOR and granting/continuing the applicant’s clearance.
Based on information from a FOIA request I did 10 years ago, of the 1,700 SOR responses received at DOHA, about 400 resulted in clearances being granted or continued without the case being referred to a DOHA Administrative Judge. In that year there were 2,200 SORs issued to contractor personnel and 500 people didn’t bother to respond. Things have change since then with the reorganization of DOHA and DISCO in 2012, but I suspect the percentage of successful SOR response is about the same.
I believe people with Foreign Influence issues involving China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, etc. are least likely to be successful at the SOR response stage. Financial Considerations present the best opportunity to get a favorable determination at the SOR response stage, but too many people fail to provide documentary evidence mitigating the problems listed in their SOR. Professional help can make a big difference at the SOR response stage. For information about what happens at the Hearing/FORM stage see my article at https://www.fedcas.com/clearance-problem-get-professional-help/
Bill
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Thank you! Great intel. Could I ask, in your experience, how successful an SOR response vice a full hearing could be for:
-Alcohol abuse pattern over 15 years which has been mitigated by self enrolled outpatient treatment and 1 year abstinence with counseling (assume an updated diagnoses at time of submittal also)
-Close foreign contacts in allied/ friendly countries (to include a girlfriend and family)
Appreciate any advice. Again, mitigating factors are in place for these but very subjective which is why I ask. I may ask to reach out directly for a consult if you’d be open to it?