Colleagues - long Time follower, first time poster. curious to know if anyone on this forum is familiar with the clearance process for USAID. I got my CJO for a PSC opportunity requiring secret clearance in July ‘20, SF86 submitted August ‘20, BI interview (virtual) September ‘20. Half my references have been checked, including current and 1 previous supervisor, and 2/3 character references. Agency contact had nothing to say about the matter or my specific case. Six month seems long, but seems most posts here are DoD or industry related… looking for some perspective. Thanks in advance.
I am thinking that USAID clearances are done by Dept of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) and their timelines seem to run from slow to slower to fuhgeddaboutit. Sounds like your field work is done (since very frequently not all the people you list are contacted) so maybe you are in the long flat part of the curve known as “adjudication” (or suitability).
At least a couple more months is what my crystal ball is telling me 
We are in the same boat 
♂. I have a similar timeline for DoS. I just received a follow up from investigator stating it was a request from DC, not sure what it means…
Could be the file was sent to the adjudicator and there were a couple of questions. If so then hopefully it means you are getting close to the end of the process.
How much longer could it be ? Does adjudication at DOS take time when there is no red flag ??? Thanks for your advice
Who knows. The wild card is how does State prioritize the workload of adjudicators… some have speculated that new Foreign Service applicants are at the top of the priority list and it goes down from there. Like I said earlier, if this latest inquiry was in fact in response to a question from an adjudicator, and not some quality control check on the BI itself (meaning the file has not yet been sent to adjudications) then you should be hearing something “soon.”
Be sure to let us know 
Thanks for the insight, gang. I was thrown by the fact the investigator(s) jumped in so quickly with my references but didn’t contact them all, and didn’t make any contacts after the first couple weeks. I guess no news is ‘good’ news? I would be curious to know if they’ll contact my foreign connections at some point - I have a bunch of family in Canada, and work associates abroad - par for the course in the humanitarian sector.
It is very difficult for US investigators to interview non-US persons in foreign countries. One thing that could be done is for an embassy/consulate security office to have their local law enforcement contacts run a name check (or something like that) on your references, but I have no idea if this done routinely.
BI’s take a long time from the time a SF is completed and when there is a final adjudication. Several agencies that conduct their own investigations (USAID, AFT, DOS, etc) can be faster than other agencies since they are completed in-house. 6 months is not long. Have you contacted the agencies security office to get a status update? Its a common request and most security offices have a function to address this common question. Your investigating agent should be able to tell you who you can contact…
USAID has their own Special Agents that conduct investigations. They often work with State Investigators to conduct work overseas.
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I did not know that… never saw where USAID had their own security office separate from the RSO. But it has been a while since I traveled in those circles.
Yep you were right , clearance granted. Took 9 months for my first TS. Good luck everyone
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Gang - good news to share on my end as well. Just got a positive determination as well. SF86 released 08/20, interview 09/20, contact from HR for EOD 4/21… about 8 months once my info was in. Big thanks to all you moderators for your insights, VERY helpful and reassuring resource.
I work with USAID and it is a direct contract. No dealing with a middle-man (contracting company). You receive your assignments directly from USAID staff, and all reports are reviewed by USAID staff. It is my understanding the adjudicators are also USAID staff and not DOS.
Yes, USAID has their own adjudication staff.