Obtaining Security Clearance

With an increase in the number of states who have either legalized marijuana for medicinal and recreational use, or have decriminalized it, we have also seen an uptick in the number of security clearance applicants who admit to using it as recently as the day before submitting their SF-86. Most

The Bond Amendment disqualifies anyone from being granted a security clearance if they were convicted of a crime that resulted in being incarcerated for one year or more. There is, however, a provision for a waiver if mitigating information is presented in accordance with national security adjudicative guidelines. A recent

Adjudicative guidelines provide adjudicators the option to grant applicants a security clearance under conditions when the issues present have been partially mitigated and the applicant has shown intent to follow through on resolving any remaining concerns. This is considered an exception as defined in Security Executive Agent Directive (SEAD) 4: National Security

The Department of State (DoS) Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DSS) is the division that processes and conducts all background investigations for DoS employees and contractors working for DoS. They are one of the few agencies that handle their own investigations in lieu of using the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency.