Foreign influence and foreign preference are two adjudicative guidelines security clearance applicants are judged against in the security clearance process. Adjudicators base their decision on the whole person, but what if you and your family have some foreign ties?
One ClearanceJobsBlog subscriber writes:
I will need to obtain Secret Clearance for a DOD contractor and I need some guidance regarding my situation. I apologize for asking a lot of questions in advance.
Which factors below are considered as disqualification or mitigation?
- Immigrated to the US 5 years ago.
- Naturalized a few months ago.
- Dual citizenship (Vietnam/U.S.)
- Only have foreign passport (I’m apply[ing] for a U.S passport but it won’t be available when I need to submit SF86)
- Immediate family are all green card holders.
- Some extended family also have green cards.
- Foreign contacts: they are all Vietnamese citizens that live in different country as VISA students (Canada, Japan, Taiwan, VN)
- I sent some money to relatives in Vietnam during COVID ($2000 x 3)
- I don’t have any work experiences or financial ties with Vietnam.
- The only international travel that I ever did was to immigrate to the U.S. I haven’t left the U.S since, so I don’t have any foreign travels.
- My immediate family did some travel back to VN several times. (Not sure if I must list them as foreign travels)
- Cohabitant is a U.S. born citizen with no foreign contacts.
- A small traffic ticket (campus police)
- No drugs, no alcohol.
- 15k CC debt but I’m paying on time every month.
- Moved to different addresses but I didn’t change my permanent address since they are all in the same city.
Dual citizenship in itself is not disqualifying. If it’s appropriately disclosed and is not judged to be contrary to U.S. national interests, the dual citizen may be granted a security clearance, and previous experiences including turning over foreign passports or renouncing citizenship are outdated.
Background investigators on the thread note that foreign influence and preference will often trigger a subject interview, but are far from disqualifying. “You will probably be contacted by an investigator to review your SF-86, but that would be a routine process for your situation. Tip: If you moved to a different address, don’t show them as concurrent. List the date you left your permanent address and the date you moved to your current address.” The SF-86 does not ask for “address of record.” It requires applicants list where they are currently residing.
Lastly, foreign travel for relatives is not required to be listed on your security clearance application.
