Maintaining a security clearance can cause some paranoia to the clearance holder. Especially in a world of online dating, catfishing, Nigerian romance scams, or finding a foreign lover on a trip overseas.

They key is to be aware, practice some privacy online, and know which adjudicative guidelines you could be susceptible to breaking while under a love spell.

Will a Foreign Lover’s Criminal Record Hurt a Security Clearance?

Love, sweet love. It puts a swing in our step, a sparkle in our eye, and warmth in our heart. But love giveth and love taketh away – and that’s certainly true for clearance holders. If you’re a cleared professional, your private life isn’t private to Uncle Sam; who you date or marry matters. We’ve written many times on the ways that a romantic relationship can cost you your security clearance. If your spouse is a habitual drug user, a foreign national or has delinquent debt, these are all red flags to a security officer. But recently a user on the ClearanceJobs Blog brought up an interesting question that marries (haha, get it?) two potential concerns: What if your lover is a foreign national with a criminal record? 

Will a foreign lover’s criminal record hurt your chances of security clearance? This ClearanceJobsBlog subscriber was wondering.

‘Accidental’ Prostitution Through Dating App Exposed During Polygraph

Sexual behavior alone is rarely used for a revocation. Usually, it is accompanied by criminal behavior when it is listed in a Statement of Reasons (SOR). Mitigating sexual/criminal behaviors can be done, but time was not on this applicant’s side. Unfortunately, having engaged in “hanging out for donations” (really, it was sex for money) up until the current year doesn’t allow for the most successful mitigating factor – passage of time between an incident and favorable adjudication.

This ClearanceJobsBlog subscriber accidentally engaged in prostitution through “donations” to women they met through dating apps.

When to Tell an FSO about Facetiming a New Foreign Girlfriend

Trying to get into the dating game? Maybe a prospect you’ve been FaceTiming with is from a foreign country…when is the best time to involve your Facility Security Officer (FSO) or disclose the relationship to abide by security clearance requirements?

This ClearanceJobsBlog subscriber learned they should discuss the case with their FSO. If you’ve been FaceTiming daily and she is considered a dating prospect, you are bound by some type of affection and/or common interest. There is some good news for this bachelor, though.

Much about the clearance process resembles the Pirate’s Code: “more what you’d call guidelines than actual rules.” For this reason, we maintain ClearanceJobsBlog.com – a forum where clearance seekers can ask the cleared community for advice on their specific security concerns. Ask CJ explores questions posed on the ClearanceJobs Blog forum, emails received, and comments from this site. This article is intended as general information only and should not be construed as legal advice. Consult an attorney regarding your specific situation.