Three-letter agencies, also known as “alphabet agencies”, are a part of the United States Intelligence Community (IC). There are 17 intelligence agencies, and hundreds of other agencies and military departments supporting national security. Security clearance reciprocity policies aim to make it easier for individuals to transition between each of the federal agencies working in national security – but that doesn’t mean the process is without redundancy.
waiting34 writes on the CJ Blog:
I’ve been in the process for a TS with SCI for a 3 letter agency for almost 2 years now since submitting my SF-86. Since I’m not sure I’m going to get an offer, I applied to a job with the DOE that requires Q clearance and I think I’ll get an offer soon. The DOE job also sounds pretty good and with higher pay so I’m definitely leaning towards it. Reading online it seems like there can only be one investigation at a time and that usually the higher one would take the priority but with a TS being the same as Q, I’m not sure what happens.
What happens with the investigation in this case? Can the DOE just use the investigation in progress or do we have to wait for the initial one to finish and that would hopefully be shared with the DOE job? Since it’s been almost 2 years, would they just start a new one for the Q clearance?
Can I have a DoD and IC Investigation at the same time?
Yes, it’s possible to have multiple security clearance investigations at the same time. For example, if you’re applying for a position with the IC and another government agency that could be under the DoD, you may be the subject of multiple investigations.
If you are applying for various government roles, you may have simultaneous clearance investigations, because although most security clearance investigations are handled by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) for the DoD + over 105 government agencies, the IC has their own security clearance system of record. The National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) and Defense Information System for Security (DISS) hold the majority of clearances, but for the IC, Scattered Castles is the system of record – and that investigation progress won’t be visible.
This applicant’s initial investigation sounds closed if you read through the thread – though they are in adjudication limbo. If the IC clearance is adjudicated, it can be favorably transferred into the DoD as quickly as a day. But until the investigation is complete, another agency may start a new investigation, and applicants shouldn’t worry about initiating an application for a new agency or initiating a new clearance – you’ll need to indicate any prior clearance investigations or applications. Do that and let the government figure out the rest.
Much about the clearance process resembles the Pirate’s Code: “more what you’d call guidelines than actual rules.” This case-by-case system is meant to consider the whole person, increase process security, and allow the lowest-risk/highest-need candidates to complete the process. However, it also creates a lot of questions for applicants. For this reason, ClearanceJobs maintains ClearanceJobsBlog.com – a forum where clearance seekers can ask the cleared community for advice on their specific security concerns. Ask CJ explores questions posed on the ClearanceJobs Blog forum, emails received, and comments from this site.
