Recent graduate and got a job in large defense company as a software engineer. Only "red flags" I have are foreign contacts (grandparents) in South Korea.

I am US Born Citizen (revoked South Korean citizenship), traveled to South Korea 3 times in the past 7 years.

9/15/25 - Offer Letter

9/17/25 - Drug Screen

9/19/25 - Fingerprints

9/23/25 - SF-86

10/1/25 - Denied TS Interim

10/7/25 - Investigation Interview

1/6/26 - Investigation Ended

5/19/26 - Contacted Congressman

5/22/26 - Granted Clearance

Total - 249 days

After almost three years in the security clearance process for a TS/SCI position, and after completing all of the required exams and interviews, I was recently informed that my processing has been discontinued because it exceeded the one-year processing timeframe.

I was told that this is not a denial. My recruiter explained that the process was discontinued because it took long to complete, and that I may still be able to apply for future opportunities.

However, I am having a difficult time understanding how this makes sense. I spent nearly three years going through the process, completed the required interviews, polygraph, psychological evaluation, and security interview, and significant government resources were invested in my case. Now, after all of that, the process is simply discontinued because it exceeded the one-year timeframe?

Has anyone experienced something similar?
Would it make sense to contact my Congressional representative to ask for assistance or clarification? I am not necessarily expecting them to influence the security clearance decision, but I would like to understand whether the process was handled correctly and whether there is anything I can do at this point.

What rights or options do I have? Can the agency restart or continue the process, or would I have to apply again and start over?

I would really appreciate any advice from people who have experience with federal hiring, security clearances, NSA/DoD processing, or Congressional inquiries.
Thank you in advance!

Finally got my start date.

Passed background check. I can work while they process for TS clearance.

7 months of applying. Then an offer. Another 3 weeks of background check. Finally I will start.

Yea I’m happy. And I’m sure anyone out here who is in the process🫶🏼 It will happen soon!

I feel like I’m overthinking the situation. So I recently got a job requiring clearance - new grad

-forgot to pay 2,500 dollars worth of taxes in April this year. Paid them off last month honestly just didn’t realize. Stupid on my part. Basically mitigated

-have around 6 foreign connections which I talk to like twice a year. Allied country.

-had a misconduct issue during college which i brought up. Pretty minor was sharing information to someone when i shouldn’t have and ended up submitting it as his own. Got academic probation during freshman year

-forgot to sign up for selective service somehow. Now registered

other than that No red flags. Good credit. No criminal history. No drugs. No employment issues. Disclosed everything to my investigator. Should I be worried about anything

Hey everyone, I’m looking for some blunt, realistic feedback on my odds. I have my DCSA Contract Investigator interview tomorrow for a Tier 5 (Top Secret) clearance.

I’m a 21-year-old recent grad who just accepted a Firm Job Offer as a Software Developer (NH-02) and will begin working on base in 2 weeks with unclassified info I assume.

According to my position document, this is a Critical-Sensitive/High-Risk role requiring an SSBI.

I was 100% honest and disclosed everything on my SF-86. I submitted the form 2 weeks ago and the process to check my background started last week.

Here is what I am up against:

Guideline H: Drug Involvement (The biggest issue)
THC:
2019-2021: on average once every 2 weeks
2022-2023: on average about 4-6 times per week
2024: on average 3-5 times per week
2025: on average 2 times per week
2026: approximately 5-7 times total
STOPPED in February (5 months ago)

Shrooms / LSD: Used ~11 times total between Sep 2020 and Aug 2025. Mostly experimental/microdosing in social college settings.

Adderall: Unprescribed, used ~4 times total purely for exams between Dec 2020 and Dec 2022.
Note: I bought/split costs for these with friends for personal use, but I have never sold, distributed, or trafficked for profit.

Guideline E & J: Personal & Criminal Conduct
July 2022 (Age 17): A misunderstanding led to a trespassing charge (received a misdemeanor but charges dropped) (the manager thought I was trespassing at a friend's apartment; that friend is one of my main references and can vouch for me). Cops searched my wallet, found a Fake ID (Received a Felony but adjudication withheld), and said I smelled like beer.

Guideline C: Foreign Preference
I hold dual citizenship (Spain/US).
I used my Spanish passport twice within the last year (entering the Dominican Republic and exiting France) strictly for travel convenience to use the shorter EU fast-pass lanes.

Given that I only have 5 months of THC sobriety for a Tier 5 TS, what are my realistic odds? How heavily will the combination of these red flags impact final adjudication? Any advice for my interview tomorrow is greatly appreciated!

Good morning all, I have a question on upgrading from a secret to a top secret clearance.

The agency I work for recently conducted a Tier 5 investigation on me with a secret granted. I am looking at changing positions within the agency, and the positions I am wanting to transition to require a Top Secret. What in general is involved in when upgrading a clearance within the same agency, with a recent favorably adjudicated tier 5 investigation?

Does anyone know what is going on with NRO clearances? This is for a contractor gig. I started the process with a CJO and an SF86 over two years ago, then the first contractor lost the contract and I got LOJ'd until the second contractor gave me another CJO a few months later and told me they would resume the process where it left off. Original security interview, fingerprints, BI, and CI poly, all completed 1.5 years ago. I've spent about a year total in adjudication where I remain today.

A couple months ago I did have a video meeting with a federal agent who said it was my final background review, not the initial clearance interview, and we just went over my sf86 line-by-line. Silence since then.

I do have lots of flags, mostly mitigated or I assume I would have been dropped a long time ago. Biggest red flag is foreign travel. Biggest green flag is excellent finances.

Is this long wait normal? Is this agency just backlogged?

I copied this from an earlier post and wanted to reshare this information While I wait on the adjudication of my clearance. https://www.cdse.edu/Portals/124/Documents/jobaids/personnel/Customer-Service-Requests-AVS.pdf

I work for a government subcontractor at a DOE facility. My friend has a q clearance she is thinking of quitting with out notice and turning her badge in. They will pull her clearance when she quits. would she be able to get a q clearance again in the future if she leaves in this manner

I have a general question about timeline. For secret clearance NBIS website says an average of 50 days for investigation and 48 days for adjudication. Mine took 55 days, close, for investigation with foreign contacts and other minor red flags. It's in adjudication since June 30th.

I would like to understand is the timeline on NBIS reasonably accurate?

Please share your experience.

Thanks

Hello, I was just wanting opinions. At this point I have already accepted a position with a government contractor and am about to start the clearance process and hopefully attaining my interim clearance in the near future. However, nothing is guaranteed until I am cleared for work. While undergoing this process, is it a good idea to interview with other contract companies while actively going through the clearance process? Or should I stick to companies that don't require a clearance?

“Position Designation Details
This Position Designation was recommended based on the following answers:
• This position has no potential damage to national security.
• This position has no potential impact on the public trust.”

“Position Designation:
Position Risk Low (40)
Position Sensitivity Non-Sensitive (40)
Calculated Date 11/15/2021
Recommended Investigation Level SF85
Recommended Form Type Tier 1”

I am a green card holder who enlisted the military. I am about so swear in DEP. however, I have already submitted my sf86. Can I travel overseas? I do not want to affect my process

Haven't seen their face, don't know their citizenship, don't know much about their life aside from small things they mention occasionally, mostly made up conversations for language learning practice. Their username listed on the website likely includes part of their name but is sometimes just three letters long

On the other hand, logically, I have to think that at least some of the tutors must be green card holders or permanent residents ---statistically, some of them must be even if I don't know which

However, I believe this tutoring website asks for a US social security number to sign up to be a tutor - which.. also guarantees nothing about their citizenship?

Ex: in other words, should I list them as a foreign contact based on their username/name and what their voice sounds like?

On one hand, it doesn't seem like a problem to list someone as a foreign contact who you don't know anything about- I mean who would care even if I listed it? Ex: name I don't know (but can guess part of since all profiles/usernames of the tutors appear to be either single word names or a first name and last name initial) and then I don't know the rest of the other fields (citizenship, place of birth, birthday, etc, dont know any of that)

On the other hand, I also realized that some tutors sound very American or at least American or Canadian. And I don't really feel like guessing if they are US citizens or not based on what their voices sounds like /usernames are

I guess the main thought block in my head is 'well, what if I am scheduling sessions with two or three tutors very frequently. And I suspect that not all are US citizens. Now what? Frequent contact but I still don't know their full name, citizenship, place of birth, etc, nothing really about them." But likely know part of the name: Ex: Joe S. username implies his first name is likely Joe and last name starts with S

Hi everyone, I recently received a really exciting offer for a position requiring a clearance, and was wondering if I have a chance of getting a clearance with some skeletons in my closet. I have a lot of (relatively) minor issues, but I think just the amount of them is enough to at least call into question my ability to get a clearance. I'll list them below from what I believe is the least to most serious and then get your thoughts:

1. Previous (dismissed) traffic ticket. I had a traffic ticket I went to court over and was dismissed. The original fine was under $300 and the ticket was dismissed. Theres a court record of the proceeding where it took place and of the dismissal. I'm not sure whether to report this as it was under $300. This is my only ever traffic infraction.
2. Administrative Driver's License suspensions. I have had my license suspended once and my driving privileges in another state suspended, both for administrative reasons at the dmv. The first time was 4 years ago and was an error where the dmv failed to either process or update my insurance on a new vehicle. There was never an insurance lapse on my part and this was resolved soon after. The second time was actually very recent (this month), I had an accident in a state I'm not a resident of and failed (due to my own ignorance of the requirements) to file appropriate paperwork at their dmv promptly enough. This was also resolved and my license was not suspended, although my driving privileges in that state were revoked until the issue was resolved. I think I messed up quite badly there by not looking it up after the accident. I'm not sure whether to report these on my SF-86 since neither involved criminal citations actually being filed against me or fines being given.
3. Mental Health issues. I was hospitalized twice for mental health issues, once in elementary school and another time in high school. Both were involuntary 72 hour holds. I have treatment resistant depression and have been in continuous treatment for it since high school and it has been largely in remission since then.
4. Being terminated from a job. I was terminated from a role about 6 months ago due to (in their words) "complaints about hours". I was given paperwork to sign but refused to sign without reading it. This was actually quite a big role and the only job I've ever been fired from. I'm not quite sure my official reason for being fired, but I was told in my termination discussion with HR that besides the one time (but in front of other workers) complaint about hours during an orientation meeting on my first day they didn't have any other issues with my work performance, but I'm not sure what they will say to an investigator. I worked there for a period of a week I've never been fired before or since.
5. Debt. I might have unresolved medical debt totalling just under $1000. I was recently contacted by a collections agency saying that I have unresolved medical debt from a car accident that happened 4 years ago. I've inquired with them and, if the debt is legitimate, I plan on immediately paying in full the settlement offer they offered me. They had a previous address of mine from the time of the accident, but the debt also didnt show up on my credit report when I pulled it. Besides this I'm debt free.
6. A Lien. After a bad car accident, I neglected to retrieve my totalled automobile from a wrecker yard. They then placed a lien on the vehicle and sold it. Then, after some kind of notification from them (I actually don't recall how I learned that I still owed them money), I paid off the rest of what I owed the yard after the car was sold. I don't recall how much it was but having a vehicle sold off in a lien is very serious and it was a big fuck up of mine not to retrieve the vehicle. I don't recall the exact amount of debt, but I believe it was less than $1000 total, with the remainder that I paid being less than $300.
7. Foreign Contacts and Dual Citizenship. My mom is a British citizen and I inherited British citizenship from her. I don't have an active UK passport and haven't been there in over 10 years. Additionally, my step mother is from Taiwan, I have never been to the country and don't have any citizenship obligations towards them. Both have resided in the US for at least 25 years and they are both naturalized US citizens.

Am I likely to get a security clearance or even a suitability with all of these issues in mind? Issues 1, possibly 5 and 6 actually all stem from the same car accident. The revocation of driving privileges in a non resident state is the most recent issue alongside the termination. I'm honestly really excited about the role and do have quite a lot of positive stuff in my history alongside the negative things, but I honestly dont know if these issues will prevent me from moving forward. I plan on full transparency during the entire process and am just asking here to know what to expect.

Hello for context I’m in the process of applying with the United States, Secret Service and am 90% done with the application. I have passed everything including the polygraph and every other thing besides the background which is still in progress. I have a dual citizenship with Poland however I was born in the US. My parents are just naturalized citizens from Poland. I rarely ever visit there and have no contacts there. when I did my security interview a while back I was asked if I would renounce my citizenship if they told me to, and I said, of course, no problem since I literally don’t ever visit there, and my parents just signed me up for it at birth. It was not something that I chose. They did not make it seem like a big deal at all. recently an investigator told me that my background was in the final processing stage and that it should be done soon… for some reason I’ve just gotten worried about my dual citizenship affecting my top-secret clearance. Any advice is helpful thank you to everyone.

I accepted my first job offer a few weeks ago, and I just now got the email with the eQIP link. And I have an appointment for finger printing on Friday.

I know I’ll have to be drug tested… when should I expect that?