It’s summer travel season, but if you have a security clearance, you can’t just hop on a jet plane and go just anywhere you want. Whether you’re traveling abroad or even stateside and find yourself cozying up to a foreign national, there are various self reporting requirements that apply. ClearanceJobs chatted with security clearance Sean Bigley about self reporting requirements for security clearance holders and specifically those that apply to travel.
No, the government doesn’t need to know about your family trip to the grand canyon or getaway to the Florida Keys. But any form of foreign travel must be reported – and that’s something the average security clearance holder may not be aware of. Self reporting rules were codified recently through Security Executive Agent Directive (SEAD) 3.
“There’s really a lot of clearance holders who don’t know that that exists,” said Bigley. SEAD 3 didn’t go into effect until 2021, which means agencies have had just over a year to educate their workforces on the reporting requirements – which also apply to contractors.
“There are some contractors who are ahead of the curve compared to their customer agencies and are training their employees on the SEAD 3 requirements,” said Bigley.
Foreign Travel reporting
The pitfall for some clearance holders is the need to report before you go.
“You’re actually supposed to get pre-approval. Technically, under the guidelines of SEAD 3 your agency can deny it,” said Bigley.
Most security clearance holders shouldn’t find that to be an issue. A trip to Cancun or Barcelona isn’t along the lines of what would present a national security issue for your agency. But if you’re considering a study trip to Russia or China, that may be another story. If your foreign travel were to be denied – “At that point your option is to quit the job or not take the trip,” said Bigley.
In general, the government doesn’t want to know about your foreign travel so they can tell you ‘no’ – but so they can offer you a pre-travel security briefing. Your agency or company will want to ensure your following proper operations security before, during and after your trip. The after-trip briefing will likely include a questionnaire about any foreign nationals you interacted with.
The self reporting rules around foreign contacts are slightly different in SEAD 3 than they are in the SF-86. And that’s another issue that can catch security clearance holders by surprise. The reporting requirements for current clearance holders not foreign contacts should be reported for anyone ‘with whom you’ve exchanged personal information.’ That could obviously entail a lot of people, depending upon how it’s interpreted.
DoD supplemental guidance has since been released to clarify that personal information means ‘essentially anything that’s not publicly known,” said Bigley.
That means fleeting interactions with cab drivers or wait staff while abroad don’t need to be reported. But spill the beans at the hotel bar about your kids and personal life, and that’s another story.
What happens on vacation rarely stays there – and you’ll likely have the tan lines to prove it. Just make sure you’re also staying on the right side of your agency reporting guidelines and please – take a vacation. We could all use one.
