A frequent concern amongst clearance holders is what will happen if you quit your current job before your clearance makes the final steps across the crossover finish line. Starting the clearance crossover process from one agency to the DoD is no different – what if your clearance crossover is denied due to unadjudicated information?
Vanilla_Spice22 asks that question over at ClearanceJobsBlog.com:
So here is my situation: I am trying to start working on a contract in the DoD. I just tried to crossover my clearance, but it was denied because there was an open investigation/unadjudicated info on my clearance. I talked to my hiring company security rep, and they told me that there was a 2022 poly that was open. I remember what poly they are referring to (it was for the NSA). The good news is that I reached out to the NSA, and I got into contact with them. They told me my case is scheduled to close out.
My question is this: how long does/should this take and if my crossover gets denied again, what are my options to getting this resolved so I can successfully cross my clearance over? I was also wondering if different agencies or contracts would deny my crossover for the same reason.
One background investigator says that “Once any background investigation is open…if you go elsewhere, they see unadjudicated info. It really is a neutral term. It just means party B cannot see what party A collected…And until an adjudicator looks and decides? It is ‘unadjudicated’.”
This is an issue within the three letter agencies, specifically. While the security clearance holder shouldn’t lose hope, it can take months for security offices to adjudicate and address a security clearance.
One option: Consider finding a job at the same agency until your unadjudicated info works out of the system. Then you can apply to jobs where you won’t continuously be rejected due to the unadjudicated piece – continue contact with an FSO and NSA who can keep you informed on movement. Another clearance holder had a similar situation:
“I could not find out what the unadjudicated information was and the customer said that if I wanted to work there again, I had to have an initial Full Scope done. It took me 6 months to find another sponsor. It has been 9 months since I filled out the SF86 and I am still waiting for it to be final. In the meantime, I still had to work so I went over to the DoD, and they accepted a 10-year-old background and Full Scope and I was able to get a job that way.”
CHANGING JOBS DURING AN INVESTIGATION
Prior to Continuous Vetting, clearance holders were told that they should avoid changing jobs in the middle of a periodic investigation/security review to avoid delays. Allowing your clearance to be fully adjudicated from one agency to another will allow you to avoid the limbo that could put your active clearance in jeopardy. If you leave your role while your clearance is pending, a ‘loss of jurisdiction‘ could be placed on your personnel record. However, while your access is terminated after quitting, your security clearance eligibility should still be intact.
The reality is that while transferring security clearances between agencies should become easier under the National Background Investigation Services (NBIS), until agencies are consolidated under the system, transferring clearance eligibility may not be seamless, especially within the three-letter agencies.
