Security clearances for work

[captainofiron 2]

Curious if any of you have had any problems at your work regarding background checks because your wife is from a former soviet/communist country.

I will be needing to get a security clearance throught the government and our security officers think it might be a problem.

They said that they have only had employees with non-us citizen spouses from countries that were either US allies or at least friendly with the US, but never a former soviet country

Any input would be great.

[Dave&Roza 748]

Curious if any of you have had any problems at your work regarding background checks because your wife is from a former soviet/communist country.

I will be needing to get a security clearance throught the government and our security officers think it might be a problem.

They said that they have only had employees with non-us citizen spouses from countries that were either US allies or at least friendly with the US, but never a former soviet country

Any input would be great.

Any spouse that is not yet a USC will be put under a microscope for your security clearance. How much depends on the level of the clearance, the industry involved, and the country the spouse is from. Back when I received my clearance there was still a Soviet Union. The FBI contacted my friends and who knows who else. It was a long process, but I was finally granted the clearance. I do not think having a wife who is a citizen of the FSU will cause too much problems as she has already undergone some background checks just to get her visa. Besides, there are some FSU countries that the US is buddy-buddy with and then there is Russia, IMHO it may take a bit longer, but I do not see why it would be a problem.

Good luck,

Dave

Edited December 18, 2013 by Dave&Roza

[captainofiron 2]

Any spouse that is not yet a USC will be put under a microscope for your security clearance. How much depends on the level of the clearance, the industry involved, and the country the spouse is from. Back when I received my clearance there was still a Soviet Union. The FBI contacted my friends and who knows who else. It was a long process, but I was finally granted the clearance. I do not think having a wife who is a citizen of the FSU will cause too much problems as she has already undergone some background checks just to get her visa. Besides, there are some FSU countries that the US is buddy-buddy with and then there is Russia, IMHO it may take a bit longer, but I do not see why it would be a problem.

Good luck,

Dave

Ah I see, thanks Dave, currently the only thing I needed was a "The Questionnaire for National Security Positions (Standard Form 86 –SF86)"

but now I might need to get a higher level one, I dont work for a federal agency, just a regulated industry as an engineer.

yea the thing that concerns me is the political relationtionship between the US and Russia. Im thinking it will just take longer (only immediate family she has still in Russia is her parents, no siblings) but I was hoping to get some hard info or examples to take home so she will calm down

[AmyWrites 593]

It's a problem. Could be a big one or just a little delay depending on the agency and clearance level. For me, it just delayed things a bit, and there was some more investigating, but I still got it in the end.

IMO, the problem is worse if you have close friends/relatives in Russia, or if any of your wife's family members work for the Russian government.

[captainofiron 2]

It's a problem. Could be a big one or just a little delay depending on the agency and clearance level. For me, it just delayed things a bit, and there was some more investigating, but I still got it in the end.

IMO, the problem is worse if you have close friends/relatives in Russia, or if any of your wife's family members work for the Russian government.

I dont think they want a high clearance level, I think just secret. the department would be the DoE

relatives: she still has her parents there, some cousins/aunts/uncles in Ukraine, friends: not really close friends, just keeps in contact via facebook or vkontakte

none of them work directly for the Russian government, both of her parents work for Gazprom

[J&N* 68]

I also have a problem kindof similar. My husband (USC) used to have a security clearance and been inactive for 3 years, he recently reapplied for interim, and is under investigation for it now, some of his family members have TS. He is worried that he may not get it because he is married to me. I'm from Egypt, I've been living here for 3 years, I've a 10 year GC and I can literally start applying for US citizenship on January 1st 2014. My family members have never worked for the Egyptian government, they're all business owners.

Do you think he could get denied? he really wants this job, it will solve lots of our financial problems!

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

If you don't have the secret already having a foreign spouse will probably make getting approved difficult however not impossible. Getting anything higher or special access would approach impossible if you are not an expert it the position they want you for. If you are an unknown or new hire you can probably forget it.