How can I find out if the process is still ongoing for my security clearance?

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 14:11:38 -0400

I've been waiting for months to get clearance to submit my OCS Packet is there any way to know if the process is ongoing or I'm not getting it. I'm trying to avoid wasting my time getting all the other requirements ready without knowing if I can actually get secret clearance. Security officer has been no help.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 13 at 2021 2:21 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 14:21:46 -0400

You should have received an email once you submitted the online paperwork to OPM. For reference it can take a year to get the clearance completed for an initial investigation. Most of the time the only update you will get is "packet accepted" until they are going to do your interview.

Response by SSgt Christophe Murphy made Jul 13 at 2021 3:01 PM

SSgt Christophe Murphy — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 15:01:46 -0400

Talk to your S-2. They can look up your clearance in a matter of seconds. They will be able to provide your current status and a way forward if need be.

Response by SFC Greg Bruorton made Jul 13 at 2021 3:08 PM

SFC Greg Bruorton — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 15:08:44 -0400

If you have moved from one place to another through your younger years too often that could impede a quick resolve. As in my case, I had moved from one state to two others before my enlistment with several moves within and that slowed down my TS for approval. As I recall, it took over three months to get my TS clearance. But that was in 1960. I would hope the clearance route would go a bit faster with our current technology.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 13 at 2021 3:29 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 15:29:47 -0400

Your security manager or S2/G2/J2 should be able to inform you on the status of your clearance -- specifically where it's at in the processing timeline. Once you get approval from eQIP and your adjudication is complete, you should be issued a temporary clearance and then not long after, you should be issued a permanent final clearance.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 13 at 2021 4:30 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 16:30:49 -0400

You only need a secret clearance for OCS. You should know if you're going to be disqualified for a clearance, as long as you're a US citizen with no major disqualifiers you'll get a clearance. If you had a major disqualifier like bankruptcy, criminal background, or large unsecured debt, your security manager would have told you that you don't have a chance at getting a clearance. If you do have those, you probably don't have a very good chance at being selected for OCS.

Response by MAJ Ronnie Reams made Jul 13 at 2021 6:06 PM

MAJ Ronnie Reams — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 18:06:55 -0400

Not sure how much BI done for a SECRET, I do know when I got my TS, and when it was renewed, I heard from back home that a DIS SA was nosing around asking about me.

Response by MAJ Byron Oyler made Jul 13 at 2021 6:50 PM

MAJ Byron Oyler — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 18:50:34 -0400

Your background and social history can play a large role. When I renewed mine in 2014, I had the longest interview of the three times I had been processed and I am sure it had to do with the fact I was married to a foreign national and been all over the globe. One time during a TARP class, I was asked to place all the countries I had been to and a month or so later was called to this building with no windows, no street sign, and interviewed for over an hour. You know your history right now and if you will get the clearance and if you give it some thought, know how long they will dig.