Greetings from Switzerland
Seven weeks and no news

Foreign Service Update #534

Departmentseal2"The anticipation of death is worse than death itself."

Yes, I'm still here, and yes, I'm still waiting for my security clearance. My case went into adjudication on July 21.

Adjudication is essentially the final review of a candidate's security clearance, in which an independent third party reviews the entire case and all the investigators' reports. The investigator judges the entire report against a list of 13 Adjudication Guidelines:

(1) Guideline A: Allegiance to the United States

(2) Guideline B: Foreign Influence

(3) Guideline C: Foreign Preference

(4) Guideline D: Sexual Behavior

(5) Guideline E: Personal Conduct

(6) Guideline F: Financial Considerations

(7) Guideline G: Alcohol Consumption

(8) Guideline H: Drug Involvement

(9) Guideline I: Psychological Conditions

(10) Guideline J: Criminal Conduct

(11) Guideline K: Handling Protected Information

(12) Guideline L: Outside Activities

(13) Guideline M: Use of Information Technology Systems

About 80% of all security clearances go to adjudication before the clearance is granted. I've been told the adjudication phase could last "15 to 30 days, or more."  Well, we're now in the "or more" period.  Here's hoping my case is completed in the next few days because I really really REALLY want to attend the October A100 class, which begins in late October!  Keep your fingers crossed for me.

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