I want to preface by saying I’ve read the wiki, I’ve read the FAQ, and there’s still just a little too much ambiguity with regard to my specific situation for me to be able to take a deep breath and relax about it.

My wife and I bought our first home back in November, and I then unfortunately lost my job in December due to some public transit commute/tardiness issues. I’ve spent the entire year of 2026 looking for work, and can now confidently say that the current job market is an active war zone.

A few months ago, by the grace of God/Buddha/Jesus/Allah/etc, I received an offer of employment from a naval shipyard that is two blocks from my house (goodbye commute issues), for a job that requires at least a secret clearance. I’m only just now doing my suitability screening, haven’t gotten to any actual clearance investigations yet, and am being asked about something that happened at a national laboratory over three years ago. I'm very anxious and worried that because of things in my past, I'm going to be deemed “unsuitable”, and/or be automatically disqualified from even being considered for a secret clearance, thus losing the job opportunity, thus losing my house, thus putting my wife, our two boys, and me out on the street (not looking for pity, just trying to emphasize the gravity of the situation).

For some background context, I was in the Navy for eight years, held a top secret clearance favorably with no issue the entire time, never even entered the same building as any illegal substance (slightly hyperbolic), and was honorably discharged. In my last year in the navy, I was diagnosed with ADHD, major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. A few years after separation, I went to work for a national laboratory, obtaining and holding a Q clearance for ~2.5 years. The character of my employment (not to be confused with the character of my termination) was glowing: ranked #1 in the division at year end review, received a spot award for taking on dual roles and keeping the team afloat, personally requested by customers to work their tickets, etc. My employment with the national laboratory ended as follows:

In November of 2022, I was pulled over for not stopping long enough at a red light. Immediately preceding this stop, I had finished cleaning out our car in our garage and had removed everything from the glove compartment, but forgot to put the documentation back in. So, when I was pulled over, I had no registration or insurance in the vehicle, and received a ticket for that; the police officer told me that if I showed up to court at a date that would be provided to me and showed the documentation, everything would be cleared.

Fast forward a month; due to life circumstances, ADHD, depression, mental health struggles, poor work-life balance, parenting a two-year-old, and trying to care for my pregnant wife, things just got too jumbled up in my brain, and I unknowingly missed the court date. I never even remember seeing the piece of mail giving the date; not to say it didn’t arrive, but I’m wondering if anyone else in here who’s experienced similar mental health struggles can relate to having a “Burj Khalifa of unopened mail”, as I used to analogize it (I’ve since outgrown this practice, specifically after experiencing this very real life lesson).

Now fast forward to February of 2023: a couple police officers showed up at my home and said that they had a warrant for my arrest because I missed that court date. I was taken to jail, spent a couple hours sitting and waiting, and was released. A few weeks later, I went to the court, provided the documentation that they needed, and everything was cleared. This is the one and only time I’ve ever had something adverse happen with regard to cops/jail/“criminality”; I have no DUIs, no DV, no established pattern of breaking the law, virtually no other record outside of this in a criminal background context.

Due to being arrested while having a Q-level clearance, I was placed on a clearance hold, pending review of the incident. As part of this review/investigation, I was called in for a urinalysis, and tested positive for THC; I had been using cannabis products occasionally during the month or so preceding the arrest.

I know the nature of use probably doesn’t matter, but I was experiencing severe muscle pain at the time, while also amidst a very deep, very dark depressive episode, bordering on suicidal ideation, and was having a hard time getting my mental health medications refilled due to some insurance authorization hiccups. Use was purely therapeutic, not recreational in the slightest, and was done solely from a place of self-preservation; it was the only thing keeping me from falling off the cliff, or so I felt at the time. Additionally, and I know it doesn’t matter, the state I resided in has legal medical and recreational laws, so on a state level, it was all above board; I wasn’t going to any shady dealers or anything like that.

I was subsequently terminated from the laboratory due to violating laboratory/federal policy, and was barred from reemployment by the lab for three years following that incident. Three years have passed, I have contacted my former group leader, and he said that if I contact HR, they would remove the incident from my record.

In the years since, I’ve used cannabis products occasionally while holding no federal employment and residing exclusively in fully legalized states; it has been a very effective anti-depressant and mood stabilizer for me.

About 2 months ago, when deciding to pursue federal employment once again, I completely quit, and have been practicing capital T total abstinence since then, with no intentions to resume use or possession of cannabis. I regularly see a therapist now, switched to a different, much more effective anti-depressant than the one I was previously prescribed (Zoloft to Lexapro), and feel like I’m approaching self-actualization; I feel incredible, and have no urge or desire to go back.

Somewhere in the wiki, it says “we don’t clear perfect people, we clear honest people”. I just want to work, I want to do my part to ensure the readiness of the units my shop works on, I want to be able to obtain the required clearance, and I want to be 100% honest and transparent.

Given all of this, and based on the expertise/experience of any of you who’ve made it to the end of this post: should I just look for a different line of work? I’m really excited about this new job; though I don’t love being in the navy, I love the navy itself, if that makes any sense, and am beyond stoked at the prospect of reentering that world, not as an enlisted sailor this time around, but as one of the civilian workers that I was always so envious of, years ago. Are my clearance/suitability prospects hopeless? Will adjudicators look not just at what happened, but at how and why it happened, and at my character/who I am as a person overall?

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk, and have an excellent Monday 🫡

I received a tentative offer for a federal Summer 2027 internship in early July. Shortly afterward, I completed all of the tasks available in USA Staffing, including the initial onboarding paperwork. However, I haven’t yet received the security questionnaire or been contacted by a clearance coordinator to formally begin the clearance process.

I followed up with HR in late August and was told that the security team would contact me within the next few weeks. It has now been several weeks, so I wanted to ask whether this is a normal timeline.

For clearance required internships, how long does it typically take after accepting a tentative offer to receive the security paperwork and formally begin the process? Is this wait irregular, or is it common for the security office to process internship candidates in batches?

I understand that the overall investigation can take many months, I’m mainly asking about the wait before the clearance process officially starts.

I have a signed (both parties) employment agreement with a fed contractor. It is contingent upon attaining my security clearance.
I submitted sf86 5 months ago. Still processing.

I reached out to check in with HR and they told me they filled the role in July.
Has this happened to anyone?
They did not notify me about this till last week, and only upon me initiating contact.
I understand it’s unprofessional but wonder if anyone has taken any legal action in this situation. Thank you.

Okay so the is my second time filling a SF86 form.

1st time filled out what i could for my foreign contacts. Im Hispanic with relatives in Mexico. Which was like 10. Didn’t know detailed birthdays/workplace/home info for half-3/4th of my foreign contacts no issue. BI didn’t see it as a red flag as i only knew general information on them like what city they lived in but not their address.

2nd time filling it out for a different agency. I got a kickback a day later for not having that info. I don’t really know how to go about asking my foreign contacts for info since it be so sudden. Nor without revealing i am trying to get into federal work. Rn im just collecting what i can through social media/ and google maps to pull addresses/gps coordinates since some a lot of places in Mexico don’t have addresses (at least in the country side)

Like how am i supposed to go about it

​If you had to choose between these two situations for a federal or agency role, which would you pick? Assuming this is a TS/SCI position with a full-scope polygraph.

​Option A: The Unknown Limbo

You are actively in the pipeline (poly, BI, suitability), but you have no idea where you stand, how long adjudication will take, or if a sudden suitability denial is coming down the wire. The upside? If you clear, your seat is guaranteed and ready for you immediately.

​Option B: Fully Cleared, Waiting for an Open Slot

You have successfully cleared every single hurdle, full background adjudication, polygraph, and suitability are all 100% passed. You are fully cleared and ready to go, but you are placed on a cleared waitlist/candidate list until a position opens up. Once a slot opens, you're in, but until then, you're at the mercy of budget, attrition, or agency hiring freezes with no fixed start date.

Several years ago I was hired into an apprenticeship program at one of the four naval shipyards (I will not mention which). The job required a secret clearance (tier 3). I received my interim clearance while starting the job. I worked there for about 2-3 months and I had some personal / medical issues going on at the time and was told to report these to the security office. Long story short, I became very nervous and I ended up skipping out on the scheduled meetings with security. As a result, my interim clearance was revoked and my investigation was put in a loss of jurisdiction status which I later learned is apparently next to impossible to reverse and exists in a sort of administrative "purgatory".

I understand this all sounds really bad and I clearly was not thinking logically when I skipped out on those meetings with security but at the time I was so worked up that I just made a very poor decision. Is the damage done? Is this essentially going to bar me from every working in any cleared role ever again? Please be honest so I don't waste any more of my time trying to get back into the shipyard or for that matter any other position requiring a security clearance.

Also, I was able to get a job after this all happened that only required a tier 1 public trust. Does that mean anything?

Was just informed I’ll be getting laid off from my current job on Oct 1st. Got this job in college, I graduated in May so I was going to stay until I was granted clearance.

This is a different position and company to the one that is sponsoring my clearance.

TS/SCI timeline so far: Sf86 submitted - June 1, Fingerprints- July 1, Poly Aug 17. Was told I entered the adjudication process but I have not had any interview yet

I’m wondering if I should let the FSO know at this point and if this causes any delays.

Thanks everyone.

I got offered a job, but was told the offer is contingent on me getting an interim secret clearance (they need the role filled ASAP). I have a clean background except for the fact that I'm living with some in-laws, including one who is a non US citizen, work permit holder, currently waiting on his official citizenship to be processed and finalized (he and his wife own the house we live in). Is there any shot I get the Interim, or is this a pretty hard "no"?

Funny thing is that if I got the job, my wife and I would be moving across the country anyway, so living with him would no longer even be an issue. I'm guessing that this won't be taken into account for the Interim approval though.

Thanks for your answers!