Some clarification is needed regarding the use of the word “appeal.” The DOHA hearing is not an “appeal.” At DOHA an appeal can occur after the Administrative Judge (AJ) grants or denies a clearance based on a hearing or based on the written record (File of Relevant Material—FORM). Appeals at DOHA are submitted in writing (Appeal Brief) by either the applicant or the Department Counsel (DC) to a three-member DOHA Appeal Board. It is not permissible to introduce new evidence or new arguments with an appeal. It is permissible to introduce new evidence at a hearing or in response to a “File of Relevant Material—FORM” that was not submitted with the SOR response.
For EdFarmerIII: Here’s an excerpt from an article I wrote in 2012. The win/loss percentages are probably about the same today:
“I reviewed 500 cases decided by Administrative Judges (AJs) at the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) between March and October 2012. These cases showed that at the final stage of clearance adjudication, applicants with attorneys or personal representatives were granted clearances 60% more often than those who represented themselves (pro se). Yet only 20% of applicants chose to be represented by an attorney. Of the 400 pro se applicants only 32% were granted security clearances. Of the 98 applicants who were represented by attorneys 51% received security clearances. There were 2 applicants who were assisted by “personal representatives,” and both were granted security clearances.”
The success rate of those who pay for professional help is somewhat skewed because they are usually applicants with the poorest likelihood of success and because a significant number of these applicants are able to have their SOR withdrawn by DOHA based solely on the SOR response and obviate the need for a hearing.
Only about 5 percent of applicants (appellants) who appeal to the DOHA Appeal Board to have a clearance denial/revocation by a DOHA AJ overturned are successful. DOHA DCs are much more successful when they appeal a decision favorable to the applicant.