This was an extraordinary year unlike no other with COVID-19 dominating current events. However, the impact on national security background investigations and security clearances seems to have been minimal with the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) reporting significant improvements in background investigation timeliness and the number of investigations in the inventory. There does, however, appear to be an impact on the number of appeals submitted to the Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals (DOHA) Board, having only heard 529 initial DoD clearance denial appeals in 2020 as of their last posting, an almost 50% decrease from 2019. As in previous years, financial issues continue to outpace all other issues combined.
Breakdown of Denials by Adjudicative Guidelines
Below is a breakdown by adjudicative category of the types of issues involved resulting in the initial denial (Note – many cases had multiple issues):
| Adjudicative Guideline | 2019 | 2020 |
| Guideline A: Allegiance to the U.S | 1 | 0 |
| Guideline B: Foreign Influence | 135 | 56 |
| Guideline C: Foreign Preference | 13 | 6 |
| Guideline D: Sexual Behavior | 20 | 6 |
| Guideline E: Personal Conduct | 211 | 123 |
| Guideline F: Financial Considerations | 522 | 287 |
| Guideline G: Alcohol Consumption | 61 | 26 |
| Guideline H: Drug Involvement | 75 | 42 |
| Guideline I: Psychological Conditions | 17 | 7 |
| Guideline J: Criminal Conduct | 63 | 24 |
| Guideline K: Handling Protected Information | 14 | 7 |
| Guideline L: Outside Activities | 2 | 0 |
| Guideline M: Use of IT Systems | 10 | 5 |
Resources for Clearance Holders
Looking at the numbers compared with last year, no significant changes were noted when considering the fewer number of cases heard. As always, I recommend those seeking or already holding a clearance visit ClearanceJobs.com and the ClearanceJobsBlog forum to browse through the enormous amount of valuable information posted by subject matter experts and those who have already gone or are going through the security clearance process. It’s normal to be worried about how different life events might impact your clearance process. No one wants to see their career in national security end before it really gets a chance to start, so be sure to check for completing your SF-86, getting through your background investigation, or other tips.
