Applied for a DOD Secret clearance 220 days ago ( submitted EQIP and fingerprints). None of the references have been contacted, the FSO says that the investigation shows up as “active”.
What’s going on?
( I had a TS 15 years ago and then let it lapse by switching to the financial sector)
There could be a myriad of reasons but your FSO has the ability to do a follow up…
black holes happen and you may research how to reach out to your elected officials (on the Federal level) to inquire about the status of your clearance investigation. Sometimes this helps if you have indeed fallen through a crack some place.
Thanks, Defender, The FSO said that she had called them, but all they said was that the investigation was active. Anything else I can ask the FSO to nudge this forward?
I have not been interviewed either, does it mean the case never got to adjudication?
If they said it is active or open then it is still with Investigator’s and hasn’t been sent to adjudication. When it says closed that means it is at adjudication waiting for determination.
There is probably a request sitting out there that hasn’t been received yet. Criminal history? Foreign contacts? Foreign travel? Foreign travel, lived outside US? Some things can take forever because they are at the mercy of another organization to send information…
This actually makes perfect sense now. It's none of the things you mentioned above, but I think I have a good idea what agency is not in a hurry to respond with an answer to my DOD employer and creating the black hole.
Thanks for your answer, rly appreciate it.
If they don’t get a response, they can move forward.
If a past employer doesn’t respond, they’ll move on, if a reference doesn’t contact them - they’ll ask for another one.
Patience is the key → My whole clearance for my T5 PRI took 640 days to process (September 2019 to June 2021). The investigation phase took 13 months to complete (do not know why), along with 6-7 months for the pre-adjudication phase, before given to a case adjudicator. Getting my elected official to assistance in the process helped out a ton.
@bness2020 Do you know the actual date you were assigned to an Adjudicator? And if so how long from that point did you receive the favorable determination? Also - how was the phone call that you had with the Adjudicator…was it formal or personable?
I don’t have the date but I was told my investigation case was sent to an adjudicator late May 2021. So my guess is it took 2-3 weeks for them to make a decision. The call only lasted 30 minutes to verify current information (work, travel, etc.) since everything was about 2 years old. Please understand each case is different and unique.
I knew the call was not too bad because since he did not want to meet in person or we did not schedule 3/4 hours over the phone.