There is no time when a two year wait to receive a security clearance determination should be normal. But in the post government shutdown, post OPM-breach, USIS dissolving debacle, it’s absolutely possible. Clearance applicants are reporting spending multiple years working off of an interim clearance determination, or without a favorable determination, waiting years for their investigation to be adjudicated.
While the lengthy part of the security clearance process should be the investigation, reports are increasing that the Department of Defense Consolidated Adjudications Facility (DoD CAF) is in some cases sitting on cases far beyond the supposed 30-day norm.
A comment on ClearanceJobs recently stated:
“I submitted my SF86 and was interviewed twice by an investigator in early fall of 2015. I never heard anything back and assumed everything was good to go. Today, I inquired about my clearance level and spoke by the Security Officer. I was informed that the investigation for my TS clearance had completed in 2015, yet no decisions were ever made. The security officer said they had inquired about the status of my clearance this past March and were told that they were not able to adjudicate at that time. Furthermore, the security officer said that a determination for the interim clearance had not been provided as well. It’s been nearly two years now. What is going on?”
There are several issues here but the biggest red flag is that according to the security officer, the investigation was completed two years prior. That means when the security officer checks the clearance status in JPAS, he or she sees a completed investigation, but no final determination. Over the past three years of clearance woes there have been multiple reports of similar circumstances, which can be a major headache for both the clearance applicant and Facility Security Officer (FSO). The applicant generally has no option other than to keep pressing the FSO, the FSO generally has no option other than continuing to press the DoD CAF.
Unfortunately, if you’re case is lost in adjudication your best options are simply to be patient and persistent. And visit ClearanceJobsBlog to commiserate with others in your shoes.
