Question on Active Duty Marine husband's security clearance

I married my husband last year (2010) and this year, he reenlisted and changed his MOS to intel and he needs a security clearance- I'm not sure if it'll be SECRET or TOP SECRET...

Will my background affect him in any way? I'm worried mostly about the financial part because when I was 11, my mother lost my SS card and I believe someone has been using it because there are debts- mortgage loan, credit card- that I never took out...

Also, about how long does the clearance take? He has been in school for two months, he finishes in July (2011) but no one has come to talk to anyone he listed as "contacts"...
Can this mean he will not get the clearance?

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Originally Posted by mariaa

I married my husband last year (2010) and this year, he reenlisted and changed his MOS to intel and he needs a security clearance- I'm not sure if it'll be SECRET or TOP SECRET...

Will my background affect him in any way? I'm worried mostly about the financial part because when I was 11, my mother lost my SS card and I believe someone has been using it because there are debts- mortgage loan, credit card- that I never took out...

Also, about how long does the clearance take? He has been in school for two months, he finishes in July (2011) but no one has come to talk to anyone he listed as "contacts"...
Can this mean he will not get the clearance?

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Have you taken care of your financial problems? Identity theft is a major problem

If your husband is trying to get a TS clearance, this is what will happen;

• Minimum investigative scope. Past ten (10) years or to age 18, whichever is less.
• Expansion of Investigation. The investigation may be expanded as necessary, to resolve issues and/or address employment standards unique to individual agencies.
• National Agency Check. Checks on subject and spouse/cohabitant of investigative and criminal history files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including submission of fingerprint records on the subject, and such other national agencies (DCII, INS, OPM, CIA, etc.) as appropriate to the individual's background.
• Subject Interview. Required in all cases and shall be conducted by trained security, investigative, or counterintelligence personnel to ensure full investigative coverage. An additional personal interview shall be conducted when necessary to resolve any significant information and/or inconsistencies developed during the investigation. In departments or agencies with policies sanctioning the use of the polygraph for personnel security purposes, the personal interview may include a polygraph examination, conducted by a qualified polygraph examiner.
• Birth. Independent certification of date and place of birth received directly from appropriate registration authority.
• Citizenship. Subject must be a U.S. citizen. Independent verification of citizenship received directly from appropriate registration authority. For foreign-born immediate family members, verification of citizenship or legal status is also required.
• Education. Independent verification of most recent or most significant claimed attendance and/or degree/diploma within the scope of investigation. If all education is outside of the investigative scope, the last education above high school level will be verified.
• Employment. Direct verification through records of all periods of employment within scope but in any event the most recent two (2) years. Personal interviews of two sources (supervisor/coworkers) for each employment of six months or more shall be attempted. In the event that no employment exceeds six months, interviews of supervisor/coworkers shall be attempted. All periods of unemployment in excess of sixty (60) days shall be verified through records and/or sources. All prior federal/military service and type of discharges shall be verified.
• References. Four required (at least two of which are developed). To the extent practical, all should have social knowledge of subject and collectively span the entire scope of the investigation. As appropriate, additional interviews may include cohabitant(s), ex-spouses, and relative(s). Interviews with psychological/medical personnel are to be accomplished as required to resolve issues.
• Neighborhood. Interviews with neighbors for last three years if residence exceeds six months. Confirmation of current residence shall be accomplished regardless of length, including review of rental records if necessary. In the event no residence exceeds six months, interview of neighbors should be undertaken.
• Credit. Verification of the subject's financial status and credit habits of all locations where subject has resided, been employed, or attended school for six months or more for the last seven (7) years.
• Local Agency Checks. A check of appropriate Police records covering all locations where subject has resided, been employed, or attended school for six months or more during the scope of investigation, including current residence regardless of duration. In the event that no residence, employment, or education exceeds six months, local agency checks should be performed.
• Public Records. Verification of divorce(s), bankruptcy, etc., and any other court (civil or criminal) actions to which subject has been or is a party within the scope of investigation, when known or developed.
• Transferability. Investigations satisfying the scope and standards specified above are transferable between agencies and shall be deemed to meet the investigative standards for access to collateral Top Secret/National Security Information and Sensitive Compartmented Information. No further investigation or reinvestigation prior to revalidation every five years will be undertaken unless the agency has substantial information indicating that the transferring individual may not satisfy eligibility standards for clearance or the agency head determines in writing that to accept the investigation would not be in the national security interest of the United States.
  • Just a note, this is not necessarily a true statement about the transferability. If you hold a TS/SCI Clearance with the Department of Defense, it will not transfer to Departement of Justice; DOJ will redo an entire investigation.
• Notes. Immediate family—spouse, parents, brothers, sisters, children, and cohabitant of the individual requiring access are tested.

I've tried taking care of my "identity theft" problem but they ask me questions I don't know the answers to and end up thinking I'm not the person I say I am. I'm currently still trying to get a copy of my credit report (been trying for 3 years) but to verify my identity they ask me questions regarding a mortgage loan and banks I've never heard of so I never answer correctly.

Regarding my husband's clearance, does it not have to be done before he finishes school? We are both extremely worried that since no one has contacted the people he listed, it might mean he simply wont get it and he graduates July 8th.

As the commander made mention to, it will come down to if you have it taken care of or not. Credit history is a big part of getting cleared. If you have excessive outstanding debt, that could be a problem. If it's taken care of now, you'll probably be fine. I know a guy who had a lot of debt. They just told him to pay it off and he'd be good. So the short answer to your question is, yes. You're history can effect him getting cleared. I've known people who have had to go through a lot of red tape because their wife wasn't born in the US, or their in-laws live in another country. I would assume you're financial history effects his because of the whole your liability is now his liability.

As for how long it takes to get cleared, it varies. I got my top secret clearance in about 9 months. I would assume secret is generally shorter. But it all depends on how much crap they have to go through. An 18 year old kid who has never had a credit card and lived with his parents his whole life will not take as long as a 40 year old guy who has moved all over the world and has had 3 wives. I wouldn't worry yet. It took a few months for the investigators to call my contacts.

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Originally Posted by mariaa

I've tried taking care of my "identity theft" problem but they ask me questions I don't know the answers to and end up thinking I'm not the person I say I am. I'm currently still trying to get a copy of my credit report (been trying for 3 years) but to verify my identity they ask me questions regarding a mortgage loan and banks I've never heard of so I never answer correctly.

Regarding my husband's clearance, does it not have to be done before he finishes school? We are both extremely worried that since no one has contacted the people he listed, it might mean he simply wont get it and he graduates July 8th.

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You need to talk with an attorney re. your own financial problems. There is no reason why you should not get a free copy of your credit report

What is your husbands soon to be MOS? Some Intel MOS do not require TS clearance

Try this site

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/c...=&from=landing

Another angle to pursue is if you have ever been denied credit due to your credit history, the institution that denied the credit is required to provide you with a copy of your credit report along with a letter of explanation for the decline. I worked in finance and mortgages for eons, and we were always required to send out letters if we declined credit to someone.

They don't give a hoot about YOUR credit. EVERYBODY'S credit is screwed up these days. Once they do a very simple computer based background check on you (just the individual), you get a SECRET clearance at the drop of a hat. All they wanna know is if your'e a felon. A TS requires a thorough background check, which means they will talk to his high school teachers, employers and neighbors just to get an idea of his general character. DIS is notoriosly backlogged, so don't get excited. Unless you yourself are a felon, then you have no impact on his investigation. If he's this far along in school, my guess is that he's good to go, so relax. By the way I'm a former SSO, so I really do know.

Your credit plays as much an important role in your husband's background investigation as his does, which is why he has to provide your name and social security number on the background questionnaire.

Guideline F:
Financial Considerations

18. The Concern. Failure or inability to live within one's means, satisfy debts, and meet financial obligations may indicate poor self-control, lack of judgment, or unwillingness to abide by rules and regulations, all of which can raise questions about an individual's reliability, trustworthiness and ability to protect classified information. An individual who is financially overextended is at risk of having to engage in illegal acts to generate funds. Compulsive gambling is a concern as it may lead to financial crimes including espionage. Affluence that cannot be explained by known sources of income is also a security concern. It may indicate proceeds from financially profitable criminal acts.

19. Conditions that could raise a security concern and may be disqualifying include:

(a) inability or unwillingness to satisfy debts;

(b) indebtedness caused by frivolous or irresponsible spending and the absence of any evidence of willingness or intent to pay the debt or establish a realistic plan to pay the debt.

(c) a history of not meeting financial obligations;

(d) deceptive or illegal financial practices such as embezzlement, employee theft, check fraud, income tax evasion, expense account fraud, filing deceptive loan statements, and other intentional financial breaches of trust;

(e) consistent spending beyond one's means, which may be indicated by excessive indebtedness, significant negative cash flow, high debt-to-income ratio, and/or other financial analysis;

(f) financial problems that are linked to drug abuse, alcoholism, gambling problems, or other issues of security concern.

(g) failure to file annual Federal, state, or local income tax returns as required or the fraudulent filing of the same;

(h) unexplained affluence, as shown by a lifestyle or standard of living, increase in net worth, or money transfers that cannot be explained by subject's known legal sources of income;

(i) compulsive or addictive gambling as indicated by an unsuccessful attempt to stop gambling, "chasing losses" (i.e. increasing the bets or returning another day in an effort to get even), concealment of gambling losses, borrowing money to fund gambling or pay gambling debts, family conflict or other problems caused by gambling.

20. Conditions that could mitigate security concerns include:

(a) the behavior happened so long ago, was so infrequent, or occurred under such circumstances that it is unlikely to recur and does not cast doubt on the individual's current reliability, trustworthiness, or good judgment;

(b) the conditions that resulted in the financial problem were largely beyond the person's control (e.g. loss of employment, a business downturn, unexpected medical emergency, or a death, divorce or separation), and the individual acted responsibly under the circumstances;

(c) the person has received or is receiving counseling for the problem and/or there are clear indications that the problem is being resolved or is under control;

(d) the individual initiated a good-faith effort to repay overdue creditors or otherwise resolve debts;

(e) the individual has a reasonable basis to dispute the legitimacy of the past-due debt which is the cause of the problem and provides documented proof to substantiate the basis of the dispute or provides evidence of actions to resolve the issue;

(f) the affluence resulted from a legal source of income.