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The other month I was dinged by the polygraph and I wasted my time, even though I haven’t done anything to jeopardize my original TS/SCI.
There is a U.S. Supreme Court case, docket number 24-5056 … a response is due January 21, 2026. It may provide a way forward to people whose diagnosed disabilities cause difficulty with the polygraph to be afforded some EEOC protection.
Not even the UK intelligence agencies (MI5, MI6, GCHQ, DI) use polygraphs in their clearance, hiring, and continuous vetting processes. GCHQ tried them in the 1980’s as a trial run, but faced significant opposition from unions due to concerns over effectiveness, false positives, difficulty testing those with disabilities, pathological liars being able to breeze through the polygraph undetected, and thus they stopped it completely. The UK of all places! The USA should take a hint! Is Five Eyes (FVEY) really legitimate if the UK, Australian, and NZ guys don’t have polygraphs?
I hope to God the polygraph gets legislated out of use completely. Think of all the talent, PhDs, senior officers, etc. that had to take themselves elsewhere over the decades. It’s obvious that this brain drain seriously creates a weaker Intelligence Community.
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So sorry. Did the company withdraw you or did you get a statement of reasons? Big difference there. If company withdrew, you were not denied, won’t get statement of reasons. I lived the high stress poly life almost 10 years. I will never want to return.
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I can tell you there isn’t one 3-letter agency that likes any other 3-letter agency clearances. Each thinks they are the only ones doing it right.That adds layers of complexity to the issue. The fact major spies pass…ordinary everyday people don’t…
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Before i ghost this site or maybe come back because I am still open to cleared jobs without a poly I’ll answer this. Luckily I was only withdrawn from the program because the security officer said you get three tries and after that we pull you to prevent wasting government/company resources. Ironic huh…
They specifically stated that I was not denied a clearance. I got conflicting answers but i think i have to wait a year to reapply. But honestly, I’d rather not. I couldn’t imagine getting my life together after passing, doing the poly again 4 years later, getting inconclusive polygraphs and losing my job. Its too unreliable and way too stressful.
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On that…you are correct. It is high stress. And yes repeating would be every 5…I agree. I have no desire to return to that world and have nothing to hide
Based off what you said, it sounds your contracting company discontinued your employment process. This sounds like a it was the company’s decision, not the governments. There was no way you could have been denied a clearance, because applicants cannot be denied security clearances based off a failed polygraph alone.
Your security officer saying you get “three tries,” in order to “prevent wasting government/company resources,” is made up nonsense. I know people who work for that agency who had to go through 4 or 5 polygraphs before they got cleared to work. Should you ever apply again, apply for a civilian position and do not rely on a contracting company to process your security clearance.
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