What determines how long adjudication will take?

@bness2020 Unfortunately (not really though if you get me) I have an ex-wife and kids in a FVEY country with lots of foreign travel and foreign contacts. No adversarial countries or anything, all people in-country, but it’s still going to hold me up…or is holding me up.

Honestly I was also surprised they didn’t rescind the offer. What ended up happening is that the position I originally was offering became unavailable by the time my clearance was granted. Luckily there was another one that was similar in the pipeline that they were able to slot me in for because it took so long and my experience was too valuable to them. I hated the wait and no responses. Once I finally got a call then the ball started rolling a bit faster. I believe at the time there was still a major backlog in cases so I guess the fact that it took so long made sense. My FSO told me that they loose a lot of contracts or good candidates because people can’t afford to put there life and families security on hold because they have to wait two years. It opens up a world of opportunities though. A week after I got granted a TS I was being contacted by recruiters left and right so I think there is something in the system that shows you with a clearance. Idk I may be wrong just a thought.

Companies do not pay for BI’s, Uncle Sam does

I just received word from my FSO that my secret clearance for a defense aerospace contractor was granted. It took a total 151 days from when I submitted my EQIP.

Conditional Job Offer - 11/2/20

Fingerprints - 11/10/20

EQIP - Submitted - 11/24/20

Credit Pulled - 2/17/21

Current Employer Contacted - 2/26/21

Subject Interview - 3/16/21

Reference 1 Contacted - 3/18/21

Reference 2 Contacted - 3/19/21

Received note from my FSO that my Clearance granted - 4/4/21

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Not the fastest, but under six months so that is pretty quick. Also note that the investigation was still underway as of 3/19; it probably took about a week after that to get wrapped up and sent to adjudications, meaning adjudication took two weeks or less. You may be able to get an exact date when your investigation completed from your FSO if they have access to DISS/JPAS.

Private contractors pay for security clearances.

That is a common misconception. The requesting agency provides the funds that pays for the investigation.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwj3sqGQjqLxAhVNvJ4KHUPDA2cQFjABegQIAxAD&url=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.clearancejobs.com%2F2020%2F05%2F11%2Fwho-pays-for-security-clearances%2F&usg=AOvVaw3jM3Y90z_gty92zHADxr-8

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That’s what I thought. And if you look at the fees charged, it doesnt seem like a whole lot of money.

The cost to contractors is paying uncleared people a salary while they are awaiting clearance. Most companies now seem to handle this by not actually bringing people on the payroll until they’re cleared, unless they do have unclassified work that they can work on (and charge their time to).

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I have an update from my clearance. I am finally good to go. Below is my updated timeline.

September 2019: Submitted Clearance
October 2019: Clearance Assigned an Investigator
October 2020: Investigation Completed
November 2020: In Pre-Adjudication Phase (to be assigned a case adjudicator)
April 2021: Still in Pre-Adjudication Phase (Per FSO, they cannot provide a timeline on when my case is assigned)
** early June 2021: Case assigned an adjudicator and talked with adjudicator to review / verify information since my paperwork was 2 years old !!!
** mid June 2021: Received notification that my clearance was favorability adjudicated !!!

The cost is an annual guesstimate of how much DCSA’s vetting operation costs divided by the guesstimate of cases,

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I was just curious, you spoke to the adjudicator? I also spoke to someone other than the background investigator assigned to my case, however she never mentioned her title. Our timeline are similar except I have-not received decision yet.

Yes → The meeting was set-up my company security officer and asked for available times to speak to my adjudicator.

ohh thats good to know !! I was a little puzzled when my security officer referred to him as a “customer”. I had my interview in late May. hopefully I get the good news soon. Cheers.

I had my interview on Friday. The interviewer submitted his ROI the following Monday. He did mention it had to be reviewed and they could send it back, asking him to clarify some points further. But when I asked why my references had not been contacted, he told me it DCSA did not ask him to contact them.

Your FSO can have a lot of pull. For instance, the federal position to which I was hired and requires a secret clearance is in desperate need of me. I was denied an interim clearance because I had a lot of foreign contacts, so they requested a full adjudication. They also told them it had to be completed within a month.

It appears to be on track.

Years ago, I was hired to a federal position that required a high risk public trust ‘clearance.’ That took six months. The agency to which I was hired did not need me right away. There was no request by the FSO for them to rush adjudication. So, they took there sweet time.

Your FSO understands that there are backlogs. They’ll only request that cases be rushed when filling the position is critical.

Your HR department cannot dictate that DCSA complete your specific case within a month. Especially a case with foreign issues. Even if your Agency paid to prioritize your specific case, your background investigation has to run it’s full course.

Foreign issues derail a priority case timeline.

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Bottom of the pile! .

Not necessarily. Submitted SF-86 on May 14. Contacted by investigator on June 9, scheduling phone interview for June 17. Called back to clarify one thing on Friday, June 18. My report was submitted to DCSA the following Monday, June 21.

On June 24, he began calling family members to ask whether there’s a chance I’m a Russian agent. (Taught English in Moscow for a year recently.) Called me again today to clarify one more thing, and noted that DCSA has “several investigators working my case” to speed it up.

It could be finished by July 1. The question is how long it lingers in adjudication.

I hope they are doing more then just asking your family members opinions on that topic.

Yes that is the key question at this point. The “investigations” backlog seems to be a thing of the past but those cases still need to be adjudicated.

One thing that the adjudicator will probably pay special attention to is any “close and continuing” contacts. Not that it would be an automatic disqualifier if you are keeping in touch with anyone but it might complicate things (meaning more time).

That’s their concern. They didn’t say precisely, “Is he a Russian agent?” But, based on second hand knowledge, he asked questions about my patriotism, whether I’ve ever defended Russia over the United States, whether I maintain relationships with any Russian nationals, had he known me to accept any money from a Russian national.

Until May, I had a $15,000 IRS debt. Back in January, my 2015 Jeep Cherokee was at the dealership for warranty repairs. The dealership technician got into an accident and totaled my car. Because of COVID, it took four months to settle the claim. But I received the check in mid-May, it cleared the following week, and I paid off the IRS debt in full just prior to submitting the SF-86.

Obviously, they’re wondering where $15,000 suddenly came from–potentially a foreign national? Obviously, I sent them a copy of the settlement. But they continue to ask questions along those lines.

I submitted my SF-86 with a separate narrative that discusses everything from breaks in employment, to my physical, mental, and neurological health. It also discusses other items that didn’t logically fit in a comment or opinion block of the SF-86. With the narrative, I submitted 16 exhibits proving my claims in thee SF-86 and narrative.

On top of that, as things come up in my head that might be seen as derogatory, I email them to the investigator. My report is in and complete. He called me yesterday to say he doesn’t need them. But if I was to be denied a clearance, I can show the AJ that, not only did I provide documentary evidence and a narrative along with my SF-86, I submitted additional documentary evidence during the investigation that should have been – but was not – considered.

But in either case, I think the reason my case is moving so swiftly and they have so few questions is because I submitted so much supplemental information and exhibits documenting that all derogatory information has been mitigated.