Who This Service Is For
This service is for a Federal employee or military personnel whose response to Letter Of Intent has failed to satisfy the government. You must show up at a Personal Appearance in order to attempt to retain your Security Clearance.
You are a Federal employee or military personnel (active or reserve). Your written response to a Letter of Intent has failed to satisfy the government’s concerns. In order to retain your Security Clearance, you must be present at a Personal Appearance and need a security clearance lawyer at the Appearance.
How The Security Clearance Process Works
The Government Is Not Satisfied By Your Written Response To The Letter Of Intent
The government makes a decision on your written response to the Letter Of Intent. When they are satisfied with your response, you get your Security Clearance. When your written response does not mitigate the government’s concerns, you receive a letter stating that you must attend a Personal Appearance.
The Government Sends A Hearing Notice Notifying You That You Have Been Denied And Must Appear
We—as the firm representing you—receive a letter from the agency involved (mainly DOD). The letter is from the government-appointed attorney, and is typically 2-3 pages long. You are notified that your response did not satisfactorily mitigate government concerns. The attorney introduces self as government attorney and lets you know that your case is assigned to be heard before an administrative judge at a Personal Appearance.
Most importantly, the letter lists the government’s evidence from their discovery. We contact you to let you know that the written response didn’t work. We advise you that that’s not the end of your quest. We let you know that you still have an opportunity to go to a Security Clearance Personal Appearance to present your case in person. You can then decide to hire us to represent you at the Appearance.
As Your Representative, We Negotiate All Personal Appearance Details With The Parties
Once retained, we contact the attorney representing the government. As you can imagine, there can be considerable negotiation among the parties to the Personal Appearance. This includes the judge assigned to the case, the government attorney, the court reporter and you and me. We conduct the complex negotiations on availability among all parties, and coordinate all Personal Appearance location logistics.
We Work Intensely To Prepare Additional Evidence And Prep You For Your Personal Appearance Testimony
There is extensive preparation for the Personal Appearance. We work with you to collect and prepare your additional evidence. Note that the emphasis is on evidence. If you don’t have evidence to support your claims, you won’t prevail at the Appearance. I’ll prep you for your Personal Appearance testimony, including mock Appearance practice.
We Represent You At The Personal Appearance
Once the judge is assigned, and the date and location settled, the Personal Appearance is set. Personal Appearances are conducted within 150 miles of your location, or at your worksite, installation, or base. We go to the Appearance together to plead our case for you. Typically it takes 1-2 hours, according to allegations listed. The government attorney pleads their case and you testify.
We represent you during the Personal Appearance and stand up for your rights. You must realize that these Appearances tend to be biased toward the government and it can be a difficult fight. You can count on me to be on your side and to recognize any bias and fight on your behalf against it.
We Wait For A Decision
In a Personal Appearance, the judge does not make the decision. The government has jurisdiction. The administrative judge can only make a recommendation to the Personnel Security Appeals Board (PSAB). The purpose of the PSAB is to make the final decision on appeals of revocation or denial of security clearance eligibility/SCI access eligibility for:
- Department of the Army (DA) military and civilian members
- Department of the Army (DA) contractors requiring eligibility for SCI access.
The PSAB board renders the decision and can override the judge’s recommendation either way. You don’t get to appeal this decision. You either get your clearance or you don’t.
After the Personal Appearance, we wait for the PSAB decision. The decision is supposed to be made within 90 days of the Appearance. In the majority of cases, the decision is not made within that timeframe. In some instances, the decision could take as long as a year.
Once the PSAB decision is made, the notification goes directly to the commander or government agency. You never see what the judge recommended. If the decision is an unfavorable outcome, this is what happens:
- If you’re in the military, you’re put on desk duty and you’re not recommended for reenlistment.
- If you’re a Federal employee, you might be terminated because you can’t meet the standard for performance.
- You can wait for one year and reapply. If that is your choice, you can use the time to mitigate concerns so that you have a strong chance to win back your Security Clearance.
Security Clearance Personal Appearance Ends In One Of Two Ways
1 You receive the requested Security Clearance—a favorable outcome.
OR
2 Your Security Clearance is denied or revoked. You cannot appeal. You can wait a year and reapply.
Why You Need This Service
- You require representation of a security clearance attorney when you must show up for a Security Clearance Personal Appearance. The government attorney will plead the case for your Security Clearance being revoked or denied. You must have legal representation to plead your case for you.
- Preparing for a Personal Appearance requires specialized information. You must understand the kind of evidence it would take for you to have a chance of winning.
- You need professional advice about your testimony for the Appearance. We help you practice in a mock Personal Appearance so that you feel confident.
- We help you understand how best to present yourself and how to present your testimony.
- You must understand how the Personal Appearance works and what to expect so that you can be fully prepared.
How This Service Helps You
- We provide you the background you need to know about how a Personal Appearance works.
- We make sure that you are fully prepared for an Appearance. It’s an intimidating event when you don’t know what is going to happen. We help you understand how it works so you can take the right actions to protect your clearance/job. We keep you informed and focused on what you need to do.
- We work with you to surface any additional evidence needed for the Appearance. It’s impossible to overstate the importance of both the quality and quantity of evidence. You’re fighting for your livelihood, and we actively support you in that goal.
- We write your written responses to the government attorney’s letter. We respond in every way to mitigate the details of the government’s discovery. We’ve written these kinds of responses for over 35 years. With an intense understanding of what the government needs, we provide the highest quality written work product for you.
- We handle the negotiations among multiple parties, arranging the Personal Appearance details and setting. It’s complex to coordinate travel details among multiple parties. We handle this for you, and you don’t have to worry about it.
- We prepare you to testify at your Personal Appearance, advising you on what to say and how to say it. We practice your testimony with you so that you’re confident. We work with you to ensure you’re comfortable about Personal Appearance demeanor and dress.
- We represent you at the Personal Appearance and—if any government bias becomes evident—stand up for you.
- We wait “with you” for the PSAB’s decision.
- Once you have received the decision, we advise you of any next steps you could take.
Call Immediately To Engage Us To Represent You At A Security Clearance Personal Appearance
We Want To Help You Present Your Best Case To Keep A Security Clearance
Don’t try to fight for your clearance alone—you have too much to lose. You need help, and we know how to help you. It’s critical that you have experienced security clearance attorney representation on your side. We’ll do everything we can to help you gain or regain a Security Clearance.
Request a No-Fee Consultation
Where To Next?
Now that you understand how this service works, you may want to review our Representation For Security Clearance Appeals service to see how it might work for you. For the full details on that service, go to Representation For Security Clearance Appeals.