One of the more frustrating aspects of any security clearance process is the lack of information. Whether your investigation is conducted by the Office of Personnel Management or one of the three-letter intelligence agencies, don’t expect your investigator to check in with you and let you know how the process is going. The complete lack of information is aggravating, especially for applicants applying for positions with the CIA, FBI, NSA or DIA. After completing their SF-86, background investigation interview and polygraph, they find themselves waiting for months – or years – and told their clearances are in adjudication.
Here are just a few of the stories:
For reference…
IC Agency
COE: 12/2015
Poly: 07/16
BI Closed and into Adjudication since: 08/16
Radio Silence since.
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I don’t know why, but I know my adjudication has been pending for about 16 months for no real reason that I can tell. I don’t think there needs to be a coherent reason but it does happen.
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One of my friends waited almost exactly two years from COE and Poly to EOD with an IC agency. He was already cleared TS/SCI when he applied and had been cleared at that level for many, many years. I’m afraid there is no real yardstick to measure against. They just take as long as they take.
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It’s not just initial investigations – periodic reinvestigations for already cleared personnel can be equally as slow.
At one point they actually contacted the FSO and asked if I still worked here and if I still needed the clearance. Fortunately the answer was yes. And this was for a periodic update, I was still cleared this whole time.
Once it finally got to somebody’s desk I cleared up their concerns and it was resolved quickly… they just needed some additional documentation. But it took nearly three years to get to that desk!
Why the Slow Adjudication Process?
Many applicants assume their case is stuck in ‘adjudication‘ – with a completed investigation that is now pending a final decision by an adjudicator, who is a different person than the one who conducted the investigation. That may be the case. But because applicants never get a clear picture of where their investigation is in the process, it’s also possible it’s in the investigation stage. While the National Background Investigation Bureau publishes a breakdown of investigation and adjudication timelines, the Intelligence Community does not.
Another factor for the delays is that it’s highly possible a case was sent to adjudication, the adjudicator had a question about one aspect of the case, and then it was sent back to the investigator for more work. There is no guarantee the already-completed investigation will be added to the top of the investigator’s pile for that follow-up work. It is just as likely it is dumped at the bottom of the pile, or even assigned to a new investigator with no knowledge of the case.
This lack of consistency and process is a critique of security clearance background investigations across the board. In addition to inconsistencies between investigations, there is also a heavy preference on completing government investigations first. That means contractor clearance processing times are generally two to three times longer than the same investigation for a government direct hire.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence last released a comprehensive report on security clearance processing times in 2015. While NBIB has been taking the heat for its 700,000 case backlog and lengthy delays, it’s clear the IC is in need of a clearance reform effort of its own. While the numbers are not nearly as large, the delays appear to be equally as significant, and the ability to obtain clear information about one’s clearance status or progress is equally frustrating.
