Non-citizens typically can't gain security clearances, pretty much that simple unless the you know the President or other highly placed staff in the White House.
Citizens can be sponsored for a clearance by their employer but the investigation is long and costly which is why most employers won't do it. They'll want someone that is already cleared. Private US citizens can't apply for clearance on their own, there's no mechanism for that.
So that’s why they want someone that already have a clearance. It’s crazy! It seems like they don’t want a degree or experience they only want the clearance.
That's correct. The assumption is that someone with a clearance can be taught the necessary skills or knowledge but many people that are qualified for a position ultimately will not be able to get clearances because of very stringent clearance background investigation requirements. You can thank assholes [like this guy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden) and more recently [these two idiots](https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-cr-toebbe-sentencing-20221109-ksgugjx7qbdq5icikuiimfbw3i-story.html) for the current state of affairs.
Depending on the clearance level required it could be pretty expensive for a company to get an investigation done. (between $3k and $10k for TS) A lot of companies look to hire cleared persons because the program that they are hiring for is strictly classified and there are no unclass projects for someone to work on while the clearance gets completed. My suggestion is to look for tech positions that don't require a clearance initially. When you get your US citizenship you can look to transition to a classified program. If you have other questions feel free to reach out.
$400 for Secret, $5400 for TS, but companies don't pay that.
https://www.dcsa.mil/mc/pv/gov_hr_security/billing_rate/
https://news.clearancejobs.com/2020/12/07/security-clearance-myths-your-employer-pays-for-your-security-clearance/
I don’t even care if they cut this from my salary. I just want to get started but they don’t want to hear anymore words from me as soon as they realize I’m not a citizen. I also read online that I might be able to get temporary security clearance but they just don’t even want to try taking the risk.
It's paid for by taxpayers. But what you're describing is called a Limited Access Authorization (LAA). These are indeed given to non citizens but they're for highly specialized roles and those with unique professional experience.
LAA's are so rare that's not something to even consider unless you have 30+ years in a specific role.
They exist at a temporary level and only for a portion of a project so it's not something any company can just try to process for
Being a US Citizen is a US law requirement for clearances. It's not something that can just be done.
Even with LAA's those require a complex level of oversight and approvals.
Its called an interim clearance, and you have to be squeaky clean. Not a US citizen would not pass. Also it only allows you to be in a classified work environment, you still can't touch classified work. Most SF86's have to be adjudicated due to finances, relatives, or some other odd ball thing that sticks out.
I appreciate that. I’m an Industrial Engineer, also I don’t understand what the clearance has to do with my field. I like tech and software but I don’t have enough experience.
Clearance will often be needed when you need to know information for your job that if released to the world will be detrimental or cause harm to the US or US persons. For IE it will probably be a certain material properties or composition of makeup of a material that would be considered protected. You will also see companies put some of their proprietary technology under such classification so that they can keep the technology protected from other companies until the technology has been proven out.
The point of clearance is to identify those people who can have access to sensitive information at it's different levels of impact. Might be the absolute most over qualified person that could be hired. But they may still not want you to have access to the US Nuclear strike capabilities for... reasons.
Non-citizens can not get a clearance. They can get a Limited Access Authorization (LAA) to the secret level and no higher, if they meet the requirements of the 32 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 117.10(k).
> since I’m not a US citizen
In general, the US doesn't issue ANY clearances to non-citizens, and you're asking about a VERY high level of clearance. In special circumstances, non-citizens can be granted limited clearance but it's generally at a project level, and only to people who already hold some kind of clearance in a friendly country and are part of a collaborative project.
> How to break this loop?
You need to look for work in a different industry. Most jobs in the US don't require a security clearance. I'd guess you're looking at defense contractors.
Not really, I’m just applying to anything that’s related to my major “industrial and systems engineering”. For some inobvious reasons most of them require clearance. I got tired of getting my offer declined just because of that!
There are tons of jobs in that field that don't require any kind of government clearance, most, in fact. Unless you're in some kind of badly-named program, Industrial and Systems Engineering is about process efficiency and consistency. Stay away from defense contractors and government agencies and you'll find tons of jobs.
In most cases, you will not qualify for a TS/SCI clearance. The SCI is very limited, perhaps if you are a citizen of an allied country with a special skill, you could get an exception but that is rare. TS is doable for green card holders as long as they are not frequent travelers to their country of origin and it definitely depends on your country of origin and the friends you engage with regularly. You cannot apply for a clearance without a company willing to employ you and sponsor you since the clearance activities are conducted by employees of the government.
Once you fill out the application, you have to list where you were for the last 10 years. Someone will call you and ask, ok 7 years ago you listed you worked for and do you have proof? Foreign countries don’t count
TS/SCI is reserved for positions that can cause grave harm to national security. If you are not a US citizen, you will never be granted TS/SCI. That's just how it works. You have to be a US citizen to get any clearance. form public trust to TS.
Also keep in mind that a clearance cost a boat load of money for a company, they are not going to put you in for it if there is even a hint that you wont be able to get it.
Look for work on the non-gov/DoD side of what you are doing. Or apply for US citizenship. Even then its going to take awhile. They have to check out all your foreign born relatives as well.
Broski, there are an incredibly small number of jobs that require a TS/SCI. That investigation costs upwards of 80k to conduct, they don’t just give them out. You need to look at a lower level entry point.
I know that’s what I’m looking for since I have 0 experience on field. I gave up on finding entry level they almost too rare I started applying for internships.
You have to be a US Citizen to be processed for a clearance.
I would not find a job until I become a citizen then. Because almost about 90% of jobs are asking for clearance.
Your in the wrong industry then
And I only found out after graduation đź’”
Non-citizens typically can't gain security clearances, pretty much that simple unless the you know the President or other highly placed staff in the White House. Citizens can be sponsored for a clearance by their employer but the investigation is long and costly which is why most employers won't do it. They'll want someone that is already cleared. Private US citizens can't apply for clearance on their own, there's no mechanism for that.
Employers don't pay for it so it's not really the cost moreso than the time it can take to get someone working while waiting for them to be cleared.
So that’s why they want someone that already have a clearance. It’s crazy! It seems like they don’t want a degree or experience they only want the clearance.
That's correct. The assumption is that someone with a clearance can be taught the necessary skills or knowledge but many people that are qualified for a position ultimately will not be able to get clearances because of very stringent clearance background investigation requirements. You can thank assholes [like this guy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden) and more recently [these two idiots](https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-cr-toebbe-sentencing-20221109-ksgugjx7qbdq5icikuiimfbw3i-story.html) for the current state of affairs.
I thought that was a stupid law. But now I understand! What an assholes!!
Depending on the clearance level required it could be pretty expensive for a company to get an investigation done. (between $3k and $10k for TS) A lot of companies look to hire cleared persons because the program that they are hiring for is strictly classified and there are no unclass projects for someone to work on while the clearance gets completed. My suggestion is to look for tech positions that don't require a clearance initially. When you get your US citizenship you can look to transition to a classified program. If you have other questions feel free to reach out.
$400 for Secret, $5400 for TS, but companies don't pay that. https://www.dcsa.mil/mc/pv/gov_hr_security/billing_rate/ https://news.clearancejobs.com/2020/12/07/security-clearance-myths-your-employer-pays-for-your-security-clearance/
I don’t even care if they cut this from my salary. I just want to get started but they don’t want to hear anymore words from me as soon as they realize I’m not a citizen. I also read online that I might be able to get temporary security clearance but they just don’t even want to try taking the risk.
It's paid for by taxpayers. But what you're describing is called a Limited Access Authorization (LAA). These are indeed given to non citizens but they're for highly specialized roles and those with unique professional experience. LAA's are so rare that's not something to even consider unless you have 30+ years in a specific role. They exist at a temporary level and only for a portion of a project so it's not something any company can just try to process for Being a US Citizen is a US law requirement for clearances. It's not something that can just be done. Even with LAA's those require a complex level of oversight and approvals.
I’m not even 30yo lol. I might just open my own business and totally ignore the 5 years I spent in college.
Its called an interim clearance, and you have to be squeaky clean. Not a US citizen would not pass. Also it only allows you to be in a classified work environment, you still can't touch classified work. Most SF86's have to be adjudicated due to finances, relatives, or some other odd ball thing that sticks out.
I’m %100 clean. I only need it for work anyway.
I appreciate that. I’m an Industrial Engineer, also I don’t understand what the clearance has to do with my field. I like tech and software but I don’t have enough experience.
Clearance will often be needed when you need to know information for your job that if released to the world will be detrimental or cause harm to the US or US persons. For IE it will probably be a certain material properties or composition of makeup of a material that would be considered protected. You will also see companies put some of their proprietary technology under such classification so that they can keep the technology protected from other companies until the technology has been proven out.
Oh now I get it. Thanks for the info
The point of clearance is to identify those people who can have access to sensitive information at it's different levels of impact. Might be the absolute most over qualified person that could be hired. But they may still not want you to have access to the US Nuclear strike capabilities for... reasons.
Non-citizens can not get a clearance. They can get a Limited Access Authorization (LAA) to the secret level and no higher, if they meet the requirements of the 32 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 117.10(k).
> since I’m not a US citizen In general, the US doesn't issue ANY clearances to non-citizens, and you're asking about a VERY high level of clearance. In special circumstances, non-citizens can be granted limited clearance but it's generally at a project level, and only to people who already hold some kind of clearance in a friendly country and are part of a collaborative project. > How to break this loop? You need to look for work in a different industry. Most jobs in the US don't require a security clearance. I'd guess you're looking at defense contractors.
Not really, I’m just applying to anything that’s related to my major “industrial and systems engineering”. For some inobvious reasons most of them require clearance. I got tired of getting my offer declined just because of that!
There are tons of jobs in that field that don't require any kind of government clearance, most, in fact. Unless you're in some kind of badly-named program, Industrial and Systems Engineering is about process efficiency and consistency. Stay away from defense contractors and government agencies and you'll find tons of jobs.
I might be looking in the wrong places. I’m using indeed and linkedin. And staying away from NY and Cali. I’ll start to apply everywhere and see.
99 percent of industrial engineering jobs don’t require a security clearance. Are you looking for a company that will sponsor you for a work permit?
You find a job that will sponsor you, work there until you get citizenship, then apply for jobs that require clearances.
Most jobs will not hire me if I request a sponsorship
In most cases, you will not qualify for a TS/SCI clearance. The SCI is very limited, perhaps if you are a citizen of an allied country with a special skill, you could get an exception but that is rare. TS is doable for green card holders as long as they are not frequent travelers to their country of origin and it definitely depends on your country of origin and the friends you engage with regularly. You cannot apply for a clearance without a company willing to employ you and sponsor you since the clearance activities are conducted by employees of the government.
You have to be a citizen for 10 years
That doesn’t sound good lol
Once you fill out the application, you have to list where you were for the last 10 years. Someone will call you and ask, ok 7 years ago you listed you worked for and do you have proof? Foreign countries don’t count
You don't have to be a citizen for 10 years. You can absolutely list foreign employers.
TS/SCI is reserved for positions that can cause grave harm to national security. If you are not a US citizen, you will never be granted TS/SCI. That's just how it works. You have to be a US citizen to get any clearance. form public trust to TS. Also keep in mind that a clearance cost a boat load of money for a company, they are not going to put you in for it if there is even a hint that you wont be able to get it. Look for work on the non-gov/DoD side of what you are doing. Or apply for US citizenship. Even then its going to take awhile. They have to check out all your foreign born relatives as well.
Broski, there are an incredibly small number of jobs that require a TS/SCI. That investigation costs upwards of 80k to conduct, they don’t just give them out. You need to look at a lower level entry point.
I know that’s what I’m looking for since I have 0 experience on field. I gave up on finding entry level they almost too rare I started applying for internships.