How do I get Top Secret Clearance?

[Spamela]

Originally posted by: Ynog
Big clearance things for any level are.

US Citizen
Have you had one revoked - if you have your screwed
They look at high volume travel to neutral or unfriendly countries,
Obviously crimes.
My personal favorite, Have you or are you currently a member or officier of a group who plans to or thinks of overthrowing the government (Y/N)?

Edit: Thought of some other things.

Another big one, if you are married to a foreign national.
They look into that.

other stuff:

recent history of financial irresponsibility.
foreign nationals in family (other than spouse).
recent history of serious mental illness.
recent involvement with drugs.
recent problems with alcohol.

if you're hired, the hiring organization pays for it, although you have
to fill out some massive forms.

the key thing is: DON'T LIE. you can even have felony convictions on your
record & be given a clearance (provided you're rehabilitated),
but lies are practically inexcusable.

<--- has had one for years.

 

[DT4K]

Originally posted by: burnedout
Clearances are granted on a "need to know" basis. You must have a sponsor.

I received an interim Secret in one day, a Secret in 30 days, an interim Top Secret in a week and a Top Secret/Background Investigation 4 months after the interview by CID. The TS/BI was granted during the mid-1980s. My TS/BI was also renewed a couple times. I also formerly held a NATO Top Secret clearance.

Just because someone has a TS doesn't mean he/she can automatically view or work with certain levels of classified material. A local access roster must also be published and approved.

Do you have to kill me now that you told me that?


So a past misdemeanor offense wouldn't necessarily prevent someone from getting a clearance?
Cause I umm, know this guy, yeah, that's it, this guy who wanted to know about that.

 

[Spamela]

Originally posted by: Shanti

Originally posted by: burnedout
Clearances are granted on a "need to know" basis. You must have a sponsor.

I received an interim Secret in one day, a Secret in 30 days, an interim Top Secret in a week and a Top Secret/Background Investigation 4 months after the interview by CID. The TS/BI was granted during the mid-1980s. My TS/BI was also renewed a couple times. I also formerly held a NATO Top Secret clearance.

Just because someone has a TS doesn't mean he/she can automatically view or work with certain levels of classified material. A local access roster must also be published and approved.

Do you have to kill me now that you told me that?


So a past misdemeanor offense wouldn't necessarily prevent someone from getting a clearance?
Cause I umm, know this guy, yeah, that's it, this guy who wanted to know about that.

it's up to the organization that grants the clearances (not your employer)
to decide whether you get one after the investigation completes.

you don't have to voluntarily tell your employer anything.
just tell the truth on the security questionnaire forms
(they're probably going to find out most everything, anyway).

if you're interviewed, TELL THE TRUTH (again you don't have to volunteer information).

did i forget to say TELL THE TRUTH?

 

[ReiAyanami]

If your Halliburton burger manufactuer in iraq, you get to make $5000000 an hour.

 

[cerebusPu]

my friend is waiting for top secret clearance. he's been waiting for over a year and no response yet.

it will take a while, and when you think its all over, its gonna take even longer.

 

[nan0bug]

Get really really good at Golgo 13

 

[marleymarl]

Ever since 9/11 it now takes much longer then it used to to get TS clearance. Ive head of people waiting over a year now.

 

Originally posted by: amnesiac
Seriously what is it with ATOT'ers and asking questions that can be solved by a simple google query?
http://www.itsecurity.com/asktecs/jan3103.htm

I swear that 90% of the threads started on here are by people who know the answers to their questions but post anyway just to be attention whores.

ATTENTION AND POST COUNT.
duh.

 

[dr150]

You usually get clearance by them running a background check on you. When you apply to jobs in the CIA, FBI or Military Intelligence, checks are done automatically.

If you're applying for jobs that require this beforehand, then you are underqualified in their eyes as that would usually entail a background in said areas.

 

[burnedout]

did i forget to say TELL THE TRUTH?

Yep, tell 'em everything. Be honest.

By the way, background investigations take longer when the applicant is older. Back when I received my BI, one of my relatives served as an investigator. She told me that some BI's required up to a year or more during the 80s. I do know that after a couple of Cold War era spy scandals, the process tightened up. And, as others have indicated here, the process is even stricter now.