Who This Service Is For
This service is for anyone who has received security clearance interrogatories in response to an SF 86 application form. The investigating authority—after a thorough investigation—issues interrogatories with further questions for you to answer.
This service is designed for the following situations:
- You have applied for your first Security Clearance, using SF86. The government has responded by sending you interrogatories. They have questions about your responses, and you don’t know how to answer their questions.
- You have had a Security Clearance—which has become inactive. While your Security Clearance was active, you received interrogatories. These interrogatories were never answered for one reason or another. To reactivate your Security Clearance, you must now respond to those interrogatories.
- You are renewing an active Security Clearance at a five-year or 10-year interval. You’ve reapplied using SF86, and now the government has sent you interrogatories. You don’t understand what is needed.
How The Security Clearance Process Works
The Government Has Responded To Your Application For A Security Clearance By Sending Interrogatories
You receive interrogatories essentially saying, “We—the government—have a couple of extra questions. You have 30 days to reply.” The interrogatories come from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). This is not what you expected to happen. It’s confusing and frustrating. Your job is at risk.
Now, you don’t know what to do next; you don’t even know why you’re getting these questions. You spent hours filling out the form. You thought you were completely thorough. If you’ve started work already, you’re getting pressure about the status of your Security Clearance application.
You Need To Understand That Interrogatories Are The Beginning Of Having Your Clearance Denied
We cannot stress enough that getting interrogatories is not a good thing. It means that you failed to successfully answer the questions on the SF86 form. You did not successfully mitigate the government’s concerns. In fact, your answers have raised concerns.
Interrogatories are based on your answers being compared to the investigation the government has conducted. You are going to receive interrogatories when the investigation seems to indicate a different situation than what you responded on the SF86 form.
Here are some instances that typically result in your getting interrogatories.
- You were not fully forthcoming in your answers on the SF86 form. This could have been because you did not fully explain something. Perhaps you forgot to include information. Maybe you thought that an expunged incident did not need to be reported.
- Maybe you did not fully understand a question on the form and answered hurriedly. After all, it’s an exhausting exercise to fill out a form that’s over 100 pages long.
- Perhaps you minimized an issue. You did not take responsibility or demonstrate how you’ve changed your behaviors since. This is a gigantic red flag to the government.
- You have had a problem in the past which you’ve since corrected. However, in the SF86 form answers, you did not fully explain how you have mitigated the issue. It appears to the government that there is still a problem.
- The government will normally give you an opportunity to mitigate any concerns. However, the government can deny you access on an initial application.
- You’ve previously applied for a Security Clearance and your current answers don’t match those previous answers.
You Must Provide A Written Response To Their Interrogatories
Now, you’ve got only 30 days to respond to the interrogatories. You need a security clearance lawyer to ensure that you get your clearance. You’re probably angry, upset and uncertain how to proceed. You believe you’ve already told the government everything. You just don’t understand what the problem is or the best way to fix it—and get your clearance.
Now Your Honesty And Integrity Are Being Questioned
Your answers to the interrogatories MUST satisfy the government. You need help in figuring out what to say. It feels darn aggravating to have to spend your time on this—but you need to succeed in the interrogatories. You want help in responding so that you have the best possibility of getting your Security Clearance.
Responding To Security Clearance Interrogatories Ends In One Of Two Ways
The interrogatories part of the Security Clearance process ends in one of these two ways:
1 You receive the requested Security Clearance—a favorable outcome.
OR
2 You receive a Letter of Intent To Deny with a Statement of Reason. This means that your response to the interrogatories did not satisfy the government. They have serious concerns about your fitness for a Security Clearance.
Why You Need This Service
- You’ve received interrogatories and don’t know how to respond. What are they looking for? What do they need to know? How do I answer these questions and get my Security Clearance? How do I say this in the way they need to have? At this point, your anxiety is pretty high. Your job is at stake.
- You don’t know what they are looking for or what they want to see. You thought you had answered their questions thoroughly. However, in the background check, the government uncovered concerns.
- You don’t know how to mitigate the problems proactively. You don’t understand why your form answers didn’t satisfy. You sense that more is needed, but you don’t know what’s going to work. You don’t understand that you need to provide evidence.
- Your job is at risk if you can’t figure out how to successfully answer the questions. You have such a short time to respond and your livelihood depends on what you say.
- The situation is causing you a lot of fear and concern. When you don’t know what to do, you’re going to toss and turn at night. You need to take prompt action, and it needs to be the right action.
How This Service Helps You
- You are guided in your responses by someone who has helped hundreds of others in your position. You get bold advice and maybe even a little butt-kicking motivation if needed. Sometimes we need help in moving forward to help ourselves.
- We explain to you clearly what the government needs to see. You’re not guessing anymore. We show you how to provide evidence and exactly what evidence to provide.
- You understand exactly what to submit and how to document everything. You’re not guessing. You have a clear plan and path forward. You see the government’s viewpoint, and respond proactively to provide what they need.
- You have an advisor in your corner, making sure that everything is done correctly. You’re not struggling alone trying to figure it out. It’s a lot easier when you know what to do and have help doing it.
- We write your interrogatory responses for you. You tell us the story and we write it in the way that the government needs.
Received Security Clearance Interrogatories?
Call Us Immediately!
You Have A Very Short Time To Respond— Let Us Help You Help Yourself
Call us as soon as you receive interrogatories. There is no time to waste. There’s a lot of work for us to do on your behalf. Do not hesitate or try this alone.
Request a No-Fee Consultation
Where To Next?
Now that you understand how this service works, you may want to review our DODCAF Response To Letter Of Intent To Deny or Revoke Clearance service to see how it works. For the full details on that service, go to DODCAF Response To Letter Of Intent To Deny or Revoke Clearance.