3 ms·

The pot question won't immediately disqualify you -- you'd just have to sign a waiver saying your employment means you're not allowed to use illegal substances.

The pot question won't immediately disqualify you -- you'd just have to sign a waiver saying your employment means you're not allowed to use illegal substances. They'd also ask you and confirm this in the lifestyle polygraph. The foreign nationals question is a matter of seeing how deep your clearance process is going to go. If you're in Kansas and the only people you know are from Kansas and all of your Facebook friends live in Kansas, it's going to make it easy for the FBI agents (who conduct the clearance work) to do the required interviews. If you start listing foreign national contacts, each one of them has to be investigated individually (the ones who are close relatives), and that's a lot of work. It's basically easier to fail someone on that and hire the person in Kansas.

briandear 12y ago
Can't speak for NSA, but CIA bans all illegal substances in the last 365 days. That may have changed in the past 10 years though. If you have any history of substances, you'll have to do the waiver.
- vonmoltke 12y ago
  That is the standard for DOD clearances in general. No illegal substance use in the past year, and any at all needs to be adjudicated (to use their terminology).
strictnein 12y ago
Strange, because the phone interviewer told me that I was ineligible because of the drug usage and ended the call. Interesting point about the foreign nationals. Good to know it's not an immediate disqualifier.
- kxyvr 12y ago
  Generally, for something like pot, agencies are going to want a year of abstinence before they'll talk to you. Likely, it'll come up in your clearance interviews and you may have to sign a piece of paper stating that you won't do it again. For longer term drug use or other drugs, the agencies may funny about it. If you're curious the Adjudicative Desk Reference (ADR) gives some guidelines on how the process works: http://www.dhra.mil/perserec/adr/ADR_Version_4.pdf http://www.dhra.mil/perserec/adr/ADR_Version_4.pdf As far as foreign national contact, most of the time, the feds just defer to the wording on standard form 86 (SF-86): http://www.opm.gov/Forms/pdf_fill/sf86.pdf http://www.opm.gov/Forms/pdf_fill/sf86.pdf It's long, but gives a pretty clear indication on the kinds of questions asked. Basically, they're looking for foreign contacts for which you've had "close and/or continuing contact" whose nature falls under 4 categories 1. Affection 2. Obligation 3. Influence 4. Common interest If I recall correctly, that fourth one was added about five years ago. Anyway, check page 59 in the link.
- DonHopkins 12y ago
  You failed the interview for not pulling a James Clapper and lying.
swombat 12y ago
Surely, to investigate foreign nationals, they just put their details into XKeyscore and...
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
vonmoltke 12y ago
> FBI agents (who conduct the clearance work) Nitpick (since I just noticed it): general clearance investigations are handled by the Office of Personnel Management; special clearance investigations are handled directly by the program or agency granting the special clearance.

briandear 12y ago

Can't speak for NSA, but CIA bans all illegal substances in the last 365 days. That may have changed in the past 10 years though. If you have any history of substances, you'll have to do the waiver.

vonmoltke 12y ago
That is the standard for DOD clearances in general. No illegal substance use in the past year, and any at all needs to be adjudicated (to use their terminology).

strictnein 12y ago

Strange, because the phone interviewer told me that I was ineligible because of the drug usage and ended the call. Interesting point about the foreign nationals. Good to know it's not an immediate disqualifier.

kxyvr 12y ago
Generally, for something like pot, agencies are going to want a year of abstinence before they'll talk to you. Likely, it'll come up in your clearance interviews and you may have to sign a piece of paper stating that you won't do it again. For longer term drug use or other drugs, the agencies may funny about it. If you're curious the Adjudicative Desk Reference (ADR) gives some guidelines on how the process works: http://www.dhra.mil/perserec/adr/ADR_Version_4.pdf http://www.dhra.mil/perserec/adr/ADR_Version_4.pdf As far as foreign national contact, most of the time, the feds just defer to the wording on standard form 86 (SF-86): http://www.opm.gov/Forms/pdf_fill/sf86.pdf http://www.opm.gov/Forms/pdf_fill/sf86.pdf It's long, but gives a pretty clear indication on the kinds of questions asked. Basically, they're looking for foreign contacts for which you've had "close and/or continuing contact" whose nature falls under 4 categories 1. Affection 2. Obligation 3. Influence 4. Common interest If I recall correctly, that fourth one was added about five years ago. Anyway, check page 59 in the link.
DonHopkins 12y ago
You failed the interview for not pulling a James Clapper and lying.

swombat 12y ago

Surely, to investigate foreign nationals, they just put their details into XKeyscore and...

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

vonmoltke 12y ago

> FBI agents (who conduct the clearance work) Nitpick (since I just noticed it): general clearance investigations are handled by the Office of Personnel Management; special clearance investigations are handled directly by the program or agency granting the special clearance.