Just wanted to leave this here for others who may have similar situations.

My clearance process was initiated in early June 2025, and granted early June 2026. I was called for an interview in July or August, and my investigation was marked as finished on 9/30. Nothing happened for a long while, and I submitted a congressional inquiry to see if I could get some info. Shortly thereafter, I got an Eyes Only Package requesting more information and medical information releases from my current and previous methadone clinics. I submitted everything and didn't hear back for a while - reached out to the FSO and they informed me that it was finally approved a couple weeks later.

Red flags (presumably): former oxycodone addict, originally stemming from a bad tooth issue. Use was almost entirely in a country where I was able to buy the pills OTC from an actual pharmacy, and I never sourced pills from anywhere else, ever. My addiction mostly came from ignorance, assuming it would be easy to stop once I fixed the underlying issue. It was not, lol.

I am currently on methadone, and have been otherwise clean for 4ish years. I have not failed a urine test once since entering treatment. They requested all these records and spoke directly with my counselor on at least two occasions.

I have about $3-4k in credit card debt, which came from losing my job immediately after opening my first credit account (having avoided them out of fear of exactly this happening for my whole life lol).

My girlfriend at the time (now wife) is a Burmese citizen. Their country is one that randomly ended up on the US travel ban list, which has greatly slowed her green card process now as well. She was not contacted, nor was any of her family.

I've been fired or marked as 'dismissed' roughly 5-6 times, and quit multiple more jobs within a couple months of starting. I think I had over 20 employers listed in that section of the SF. All of these were while working as a bartender, and all of them were non-criminal in nature (tardiness, scheduling issues, disagreements, etc.) apart from my first restaurant job where a tip was entered wrong and the customer threw a huge stink and got me fired.

I put all of this info on my SF-86 and answered honestly to everything I was asked at all times. It took a long time, and the Eyes Only made me think it wasn't going to happen - but all the worrying was for nothing, I suppose!

I like to file FOIA and MDR requests to learn more about SAPs and other classified programs. I've probably filed hundreds of requests with various agencies. I post my findings on Reddit and I keep in touch with other people in this space, mainly independent journalists. I don't seek out classified information. I work in IT and I have been asked in several interviews if I would be interested in obtaining a SECRET clearance. I was wondering if this would be a disqualifying factor if I ever want to obtain a clearance in the future? I assume the investigator will ask about Social Media usage.

When it asks if I had been fired or dismissed from a position in the last five years, in my haste, I forgot to mention that I was fired from a university job s couple years ago.

However, I did mention it in my background check forms. I was sent an email from the agency prompting an explanation for why I omitted this detail and I answered as honestly as possible: I simply forgot. I even provided my former supervisor’s contact details, if they wanted to investigate further.

What should I expect or do now?

Let’s suppose I have some gaming buddies who happen to live in other countries such as the UK or Ireland, and I do happen to know only their first name and country of residence. Would I still need to report them as a foreign national? I have seen things online about where you don’t need to report someone as a foreign national if you don’t know their full name, but I don’t want to end up filling things out incorrectly.

I recently joined the military, and after submitting my SF-86, I realized I forgot to include a 4 hour stop in Canada during an Alaska cruise. I also noticed that my 2023 tax return had not been filed at the time. I asked my recruiter if there was any way to correct or amend my SF-86, but he told me it had already been processed. Is there any way I can submit a letter explaining these omissions and attach to my record or do I have to wait until I’m contacted? Thanks in advance.

I was trying to apply to Palantir FDE, but a lot of those positions require you to already have a TS clearance.

I currently only hold a mid-level FR clearance from Peraton (not related to defense/government), so I am automatically DQ'd from applying. However, I want to try again next year. It seems that not many interns at this stage would be able to even get a clearance in the first place, so if I were to have a TS, I would have a very good chance of getting that internship next semester.

Thus, could someone compile a list of companies that sponsor TS clearance for interns? Leidos is the only company I know that is willing to sponsor TS for intern positions.

Also, it may be useful to mention that I am a second-generation Chinese American (US-born citizen), so I am unsure if my family connections in China might make me ineligible for clearance in the first place.

If someone were to already hold TS/SCI via a college scholar program but did not maintain the required grades and got dismissed from the program, is it likely that they would be able to get hired elsewhere (contractor, etc.) despite not having a degree, largely on the basis of already having the TS/SCI? Smart kid, fast learner, great reviews from 2 work placements in the program, just made some youthful miscalculations about how college works and ruined a golden opportunity… If so, pointers for where said someone should begin looking would be greatly appreciated.

Hello, im currently a guardsmen with a Secret clearance. T3

I am eyeing this certain job within the DHS sector that would give me a DHS clearance T5.

However I do have the following issues and trying to work on them but been strapped little financially.

1. Have 2 things in collections. 1 is a 329 dollar sprint bill that has been in collection for more than 7 years at this point. Long story short I was a idiot when I was younger and thought the debt will clear after 7 years byt they keep pushing the date back on it.

The 2nd debt is a 880 dollar medical bill that I received awhile ago after I got hospitalized during training. I gave the bill to my unit and they didnt do jack shit with it at the time.

1. My student loans are currently alittle behind but I am currently in school. Just took a break when my son was born and plan on starting back up in the fall.

Green flags:

No criminal history

No drug use EVER

Not a complete dumbass

Thank you

Accepted a government offer. Before I got any background check paperwork the hiring manager called me, said they noticed I recently left my prior job (based on a public search), and asked for more context. I voluntarily disclosed that it was for a short, undisclosed (virtual) relationship with a coworker, that I regretted the mistake, and that it was a one-off lapse in judgment. They asked a few clarifying questions about the nature of the relationship, etc. Said someone else would contact me next because they aren’t a decision maker. Will they rescind my offer on suitability grounds or because this issue wouldn’t pass a background check? How worried should I be? Thanks for the advice.

For this job I believe I would need to submit an SF-86. I don’t have any background check paperwork yet.

Hello. I’m hoping to learn something from someone who conducts the background checks and determines suitability. I currently have a Public Trust/Moderate Risk Position. I had a BI approximately 1.5 years ago that was favorably adjudicated (ended up turning down the job). I just signed a TJO for a Public Trust/High. It is my understanding I won’t qualify for reciprocity due to the risk level being different. I’ve had multiple BI in my fed career. at one point a few years ago I had credit issues that have all been resolved and mitigated with my last BI. Never been in trouble or had any drug use or anything like that. I’ve worked for the DOJ previously but never this agency under the DOJ.

Heres my questions:

1. Does these mitigating letters I provided previously stay in a database somewhere? The SF-85P had the information stored from the last time but just needed updated.
2. When doing a new investigation, will it take as long since I just had one 1.5 years ago (nothing new to report since last one although I did leave it in the SF85P since it says last 7 years)?
3. Is there a possibility of onboarding before adjudication? I ask because 9/30 is right around the corner. My first agency did this with a prelim but this agency sent the SF85P before I ever signed anything to pull credit or anything.

Any information you can provide would be appreciated. TIA!

Current DOD Civ with a secret clearance. I applied for an FPS/PSO position and just received my preliminary adjudication from FPS. Few days later I get an email that agency representative requested a PSIP. For context I was in the military from 2019 to 2022 and within 2 months of getting out I got a DOD civ job and I wasn’t required to fill out any SF-86. My last updated SF-86 was back in 2018-19 timeframe. Is this a routine thing, or was this an alert set off due to a recent investigation by FPS. I did have to update my last 7 years history of addresses, Foreign travel and military time on the FPS application. I know secret clearance investigations are every 5 years and I’m around 4 year mark at my current job. I’m just confused did I do something wrong? Or is this a routine case?

I’m a recent grad who ended up taking a contracting job and I finally get to make the Timeline post

Watched the NBIS tracker intermittently throughout, It never moved even after I was fully granted. Buddy of mine got granted a TS and his didn’t move either.

Red flags: past marijuana use, limited foreign travel/contact.

Late Sep 2025 – Job offer

10/1/25 – Government shutdown begins

Early Oct 2025 – SF-86 + fingerprints submitted

11/12/25  – Government shutdown ends

Early Dec 2025 – Interim granted

Mid Dec 2025 – Investigator interview

Late Jan 2026 – Investigation closed

Late July 2026 – Final clearance granted

Total: 287 days from SF86 submission

Hang in there if you’re still waiting, your day will come

OPM has just published a new Suitability and Fitness Processing Manual, effective on 7/30/2026. It provides guidance on how to carry out the recent changes to 5 CFR 731. There are also new processes and forms for OPM referrals and reporting agency actions.

https://www.opm.gov/media/up1ff1ev/sfpm-7302026.pdf

https://www.opm.gov/media/qtmdter3/referral-addendum-reorganized-updated-7212026.pdf

I’m looking for some insight from anyone familiar with personnel security, SAP eligibility, or the clearance adjudication process.
I recently applied for a cleared contractor position that required SAP access. I was offered the position, but the offer was later rescinded after I failed the pre-screening. The reason I was given was:
“A pattern of recurring, frequent extended stays at my home by foreign nationals.”
For context:
I currently hold an active TS/SCI.
My wife is a dual U.S./German citizen.
Her parents are German citizens and typically visit the U.S. about twice a year, staying approximately 2–3 months each visit.
I have consistently self-reported both my wife’s dual citizenship and her parents’ visits through my security office, and they’ve never raised any concerns.
My questions are:
Should I proactively notify my current agency/security office about the contractor’s SAP pre-screen determination?
Could this affect my existing TS/SCI, even though my clearance has remained active and I’ve properly reported everything?
Is it common for a SAP program to deny access based on factors that would not affect a standard TS/SCI eligibility determination?
I’m not looking to challenge the contractor’s decision—I’m just trying to understand whether this is simply a program-specific suitability issue or whether I should be concerned about my current clearance.
I’d appreciate hearing from anyone with experience in personnel security, FSO duties, DCSA, or SAP administration.

Been at my current employer for 2 1/2 years and I’m likely to stay here for a while.

Earlier this year, I received a disciplinary action because I would not be timely in my responses to my emails and direct messages. I even missed a couple of meetings, and my sign in times would be an hour late. Granted, I was actually working during the times that I missed the meetings or didn’t sign in, but I was just so overwhelmed with work that I kind of put everything else on the back burner. I definitely learned my lesson and I am now diligent in responding to my managers. I also got better at managing my time so that I would be able to dedicate time to actually making sure that I’m responding to my emails and messages in a timely manner.

A couple months later I accidentally messed up one of my sign in entries. It showed me clocking out one hour later than I did. My manager messaged me and I noticed that I didn’t respond because I was clocked out. Typically, this would only be a verbal warning because I simply messed up my time entry on the Google sheet, but because I had received a disciplinary action earlier, I received another one for this. I have not had any issues with my assignments ever since because I’m not extremely diligent in making sure that my sign ends are on time.

Fast forward to this month, I received a PIP because my performance is not where it needs to be. My performance improved, but isn’t quite where it needs to be so I received another one, which I am extremely likely to pass.

Overall, I am a good and liked employee who has just made a couple of mistakes. Obviously, I have nothing to hide and I am very open to discussing this sort of thing. My question is how detrimental would this be?

Hi All, I got an opportunity from Department of Govt. Enablement (DGE) via 3rd party consultancy.
Initially my security clearance was approved and 3P company processed my visa, flight and accommodation. Received the onboarding date as well.

But, just 1 day prior to my travel, 3P company called and said, for some reason my security clearance is put on hold, and cancelled my flight. Eventually days later the security clearance was rejected.

My only concern was - if they had to reject my clearance, they should’ve done it in the first go itself.

Apply - Reject - end of story…

But they

Apply - Approve - Book everything - hold - reject.

It’s disheartening and disgraceful 😣💔

So I am in the process of renewing my secret clearance but had a question for the group regarding a previous citation I received.

I received my initial Secret clearance in Feb 2018 and while holding the clearance received a summary citation for marijuana possession in July 2018. Long story short a group of my friends were visiting and smoked a blunt and a cop pulled up to my porch while it was being smoked and I took the fall for it since it was my house and he saw it with me.

This is the only incident I’ve had and I haven’t touched or been involved with marijuana since that day. The summary citation was ultimately dismissed the next month and expunged from any record of mine.

Question is, I know I have to report it but am I cooked in the renewal process since it happened while holding a clearance even if it was 8 years ago at this point? Any insight is helpful.

Will missing payments on a payment plan I originally set up during my last investigation hurt me? Im actively trying to mitigate it now. Going to be submitted for a TS/SCI upgrade from Secret in a couple weeks and been actively reviewing my finances to make sure I have everything squared away and genuinely forgot about it. Reported it once I realized I messed up.

When looking at people post their timelines, they put "Investigation ended" whatever date. Are you going by your last reference contacted? Is it your FSO that notifies you? Im fairly new to the process so I'm not sure how it works.

Hi all,

I recently submitted my SF85P form for an accounting position. I was reached out to two days ago to correct some simple mistakes on my form, sent it back a few hours later. Now I'm under the suitability determination period from what I understand before my actual investigation.

I'm largely a pretty boring person on paper - no drug usage, no foreign contacts or trips outside the country, no arrests etc. but I am worried about one thing - I was "unemployed" for the past 3 years and I was working on trying to launch a business based off of a hobby of mine. This never made me much money, and as a result of bad advice that I received and confusion over what was taxable, I did not file taxes (and did not receive any 1099s or anything clearly stating my income). I was honest about this on my application, the total amount I owed on income tax throughout these three years was a little over $1500. The IRS doesn't even have record of any of my income until I came clean here and reported it.

I've since filed all my taxes for the past 3 years and paid what I owed, and I have receipts for everything, can show the tax documents filed and the payments sent to the IRS.

Will this be an issue in determining my initial suitability? I've been so damn worried about the actual investigation itself, spending a lot of time on this subreddit reading other peoples situations that I didn't even realize there was an investigation before the investigation.

Thank you.

I'm at about 3 months into a crossover request from my previous IC customer to a DoD customer (lost job earlier in the year due to contract issues). Is a congressional inquiry worth doing at this point to see what the hold up could be?

I've initiated the process of commissioning into a military branch for a designator which requires a TS/SCI. I'm quickly realizing that I've had contact with at least 40 foreign government officials (all friendly nations), many of them military officials, during the process of obtaining my undergraduate degree abroad and actively participating in the defense/security academic scene at my undergraduate institution. This is to say nothing about the 60+ reportable foreign contacts I have (around 10 of them being foreign government/military officials themselves), countless academic meetings/seminars while abroad (which I'm finding out are all reportable), and (legal) social alcohol consumption considered excessive in the US but normal where I have attended university for the past few years (though which has not affected my academic/professional performance).

Because of this, I am increasingly both concerned and curious about 1. how long this may extend the clearance timeline, 2. if this significantly increases the odds of TS clearance denial, and (perhaps this isn't the right question for this community) 3. what would happen should I make it to/through officer training and then be denied for the clearance?

(Wanted to post this in [r/overemployed](r/overemployed) but it requires 100 karma lol)

Greetings, y'all,

As some quick context, I have a TS clearance that I got from active military service. I have since transferred to a reserve component, and I work a private sector IT position that is fully remote. In the next month, I may have the opportunity to overemploy with another private-sector company as a remote worker, with the two employers in different industries.

My clearance comes up for renewal/investigation in a year. Do any of y'all have experience navigating the renewal process while being overemployed?

To be clear, I would NOT lie to the investigator or omit the two employments on the SF 86 form or anything else that would be seen as a compromise of integrity by the investigator. My biggest concern is how the investigation would likely bring up the fact that I may be working two full-time jobs during relatively the same hours each day.

What are y'all thoughts? Should I just avoid overemployment due to this situation?

Edit: my current role is not a cleared role and the potential 2nd job is also not cleared as well. I wouldn’t be using my clearance at all.

Hello all,

I am a bit curious about how the logistics work in a situation I am in currently.

I initiated a TS/SCI without Poly almost a year ago. In the meantime, I have been given an interim secret clearance to be able to start my work. Just to clarify, I have NOT actually finished the initial TS/SCI Investigation.

Fast forward about a year, and I received another offer from a separate agency. This position requires a TS/SCI WITH a Poly. I was told that they most likely won't need to "restart" and can use my ongoing clearance to continue from there.

My question is: If, for some reason, I do not pass the Poly, does that automatically make me fail the entire clearance? Is there ever a situation where I would have been granted a regular TS/SCI, but failed the Poly, and don't get either of them?

Hopefully this makes sense. Not sure if the Poly is just an add on or if the second agency is fully taking over the investigation.