Security Clearance

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citi08

Registered Users (C)
Friends,

Does anyone know of any problems in getting security clearance if we possess OCI?
I see it on the state dept webside re-iterating the same fact that is mentioned on GOI and consulate websites i.e. "OCI" does not really mean "C" i.e. citizen. Just wondering if the security clearance guys will take a note of it.
 
Hello ,

I am in the same situation. I am planning to apply for OCI and would like to know thw implications (if any) on US security clearance.

If any body with OCI has gone through any level of security clearance procedure please share your general thought.

vik_b
 
citi08 said:
Friends,

Does anyone know of any problems in getting security clearance if we possess OCI?
I see it on the state dept webside re-iterating the same fact that is mentioned on GOI and consulate websites i.e. "OCI" does not really mean "C" i.e. citizen. Just wondering if the security clearance guys will take a note of it.
Click to expand...

Please look at thread http://boards.immigration.com/showthread.php?t=289961

If I was betting, I would say that it should "not" affect the clearance. If you see the DOS site, they say that even if the Indian authorities claim that OCI is "overseas or dual citizenship", it in NOT considered that by DOS, as you don't get indian passport or voting rights. But, again, clearance process is so subjective, if there are no clear benefits to getting OCI (for your situation), I would refrain from doing it, and mitigate the chance of getting a clearance denial.
 
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jllag1 said:
Please look at thread http://boards.immigration.com/showthread.php?t=289961

If I was betting, I would say that it should "not" affect the clearance. If you see the DOS site, they say that even if the Indian authorities claim that OCI is "overseas or dual citizenship", it in NOT considered that by DOS, as you don't get indian passport or voting rights. But, again, clearance process is so subjective, if there are no clear benefits to getting OCI (for your situation), I would refrain from doing it, and mitigate the chance of getting a clearance denial.
Click to expand...

I saw your other post also about clearance and dual citizenship. Here In my view OCI is a visa to visit and work in INDIA. It is on the borderline as it is not a just a tourist visa.

I think if I do get an OCI I would need to explain why I need it and to prove beyond doubt that I have no intention of moving to INDIA. May be a tourist visa is a better option if I am planning to apply for a US clearance in near future.; I would still be able to vist india when needed.

Since I am not planning to move there any ways it should not matter to me.

vik_b
 
I would imagine that it would depend on your travel patterns and your family back in India. Take a look at this case:

CASE NUMBER: 07-05902.h1

Foreign Influence; Foreign Preference

01/09/2008
Applicant, who was born and raised in India, works for a defense contractor. His wife, children and in-laws reside in the U.S., and except for his sister-in-law, are U.S. citizens. His sister-in-law lives and works in the U.S. His parents and two siblings are citizens of, reside in and work in India. He loaned his brother $15, 000 to purchase a condo in India and set up a small bank account for emergency financial needs of his parents. He has a Person of Indian Origin card which allows him to bypass the process of obtaining an entry visa when visiting India. He has mitigated the government's security concerns about his foreign influence and foreign preference. Eligibility for a security is granted.
 
jllag1 said:
I would imagine that it would depend on your travel patterns and your family back in India. Take a look at this case:

CASE NUMBER: 07-05902.h1

Foreign Influence; Foreign Preference

01/09/2008
Applicant, who was born and raised in India, works for a defense contractor. His wife, children and in-laws reside in the U.S., and except for his sister-in-law, are U.S. citizens. His sister-in-law lives and works in the U.S. His parents and two siblings are citizens of, reside in and work in India. He loaned his brother $15, 000 to purchase a condo in India and set up a small bank account for emergency financial needs of his parents. He has a Person of Indian Origin card which allows him to bypass the process of obtaining an entry visa when visiting India. He has mitigated the government's security concerns about his foreign influence and foreign preference. Eligibility for a security is granted.
Click to expand...

Hmm this case is closer to my situation. It seems as long as intent is correct and an applicant can prove the "need" for PIO or OCI it may not be a substantial hurdle. I am going to go over all the cases of foreign influence in the link you provided.

Thank you once again. I appreciate your input.

vik_b
 
I am about to apply for my SECRET clearance as I just became a US citizen. I have applied for my OCI, so we will see how my clearance goes, as far as the negative of OCI goes. On the positive side, I have been to India only 2 times in last 10 years totalling around 40 days and once to Mexico to get my H1B visa stamp for 2 days. I am sure thats a positive. Also, I have no big family there (as you can probably see from my visits :) ), which is probably another positive. My financial and criminal records don't have any skeletons. My kid is US citizen (has PIO), but my wife is still Indian citizen (US permanant resident) on the negative side. I have a few financial interests in India (including bank accounts and property), which is again another negative...

Looking at my case, my wife's status and my financial stuff in India are the 800-pound gorillas. I have a feeling that unless I take care of these 2, I am setting myself up for denial.

I will update this thread how my clearance goes....
 
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jllag1 said:
I am about to apply for my SECRET clearance as I just became a US citizen. I have applied for my OCI, so we will see how my clearance goes, as far as the negative of OCI goes. On the positive side, I have been to India only 2 times in last 10 years totalling around 40 days and once to Mexico to get my H1B visa stamp for 2 days. I am sure thats a positive. Also, I have no big family there (as you can probably see from my visits :) ), which is probably another positive. My financial and criminal records don't have any skeletons. My kid is US citizen (has PIO), but my wife is still Indian citizen (US permanant resident) on the negative side. I have a few financial interests in India (including bank accounts and property), which is again another negative...

Looking at my case, my wife's status and my financial stuff in India are the 800-pound gorillas. I have a feeling that unless I take care of these 2, I am setting myself up for denial.

I will update this thread how my clearance goes....
Click to expand...

I think you will be just fine. I know people with 'Secret' level clearance who have much, much larger gorillas. Do let us know how it turns out.

Good luck.
 
jllag1 said:
I am about to apply for my SECRET clearance as I just became a US citizen. I have applied for my OCI, so we will see how my clearance goes, as far as the negative of OCI goes. On the positive side, I have been to India only 2 times in last 10 years totalling around 40 days and once to Mexico to get my H1B visa stamp for 2 days. I am sure thats a positive. Also, I have no big family there (as you can probably see from my visits :) ), which is probably another positive. My financial and criminal records don't have any skeletons. My kid is US citizen (has PIO), but my wife is still Indian citizen (US permanant resident) on the negative side. I have a few financial interests in India (including bank accounts and property), which is again another negative...

Looking at my case, my wife's status and my financial stuff in India are the 800-pound gorillas. I have a feeling that unless I take care of these 2, I am setting myself up for denial.

I will update this thread how my clearance goes....
Click to expand...


As far as you spouse being an Indian citizen with PR status , I believe, if you can prove that she has all the intention of moving towards citizenship and living in USA permanently should mitigate foreign preference but foreign influence is a harder nut to crack.

I will be in similar situation my parents and inlaws are Inidan citizen so..foreign influence might be an issue.

vik_b

I am just a layman not a lawyer, please treat my comments appropriately

PD July 08
FP Aug 08
IL Oct 08
I and Oath Nov 08
 
I found the below information. I think one can expect delays and appeals because of OCI, if not complete denial.


http://www.dod.mil/dodgc/doha/industrial/07-13232.a1.pdf


http://www.r2iclubforums.com/forums...t-security-clearance-visa-permit-status-7122/


“Having an OCI did stir some commotion in my security clearance.
When i first got the job and filled out the security clearance paper, i only had US passports(no indian visa or PIO). So, i immediately got a temporary secret clearance. Few months back, i applied for OCI and got it. A month after i got OCI, i was scheduled to be interviewed by a NCIS(Naval Criminal Investigative Service) official. In the interview, i provided them my US tourist and official passports, proof of my previous indian citizenship etc. They were baffled by the OCI booklet and the name of the long term visa -"Overseas CITIZEN of India". I tried my best to convince them that its just a long term visa. I even showed them the letter attested by the Indian embassy stating that i have surrendered my Indian Passport. They didn't like the term "CITIZEN" in the OCI booklet. Somehow they got convinced that iam not a dual citizen. But now they are creating a new problem saying iam not supposed to have any kind of permanent visa. Iam asked to either return the visa to the embassy or destroy it in front of a security official.
Iam still waiting to hear the final decision. Worst come, i will have to give up my OCI and switch to PIO.”



http://ask.metafilter.com/36146/USIndia-dual-citizenship
 
TheRealist said:
I think you will be just fine. I know people with 'Secret' level clearance who have much, much larger gorillas. Do let us know how it turns out.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Hey TheRealist

Any updates. I sure would like to know what happened....

Thank you.

vik_b
 
vik_b said:
Hey TheRealist

Any updates. I sure would like to know what happened....

Thank you.

vik_b
Click to expand...

vik_b: I was only responding to jllag1's post. I myself don't have any pending clearance processing. While I don't know exactly what job jllag1 needs his clearance for, I have seen people get their clearances in similar situations and in a couple of cases with even more 'links' to their native countries. Of course, things have changed in the past few years and they keep changing for obvious reasons. Everyone's mileage may vary. I, too, am curious to know how jllag1 makes out. I hope it works out well for him.
 
OCI/PIO vs interim security clearance/full security clearance

Does applying for OCI/PIO affect obtaining a U.S. security clearance?
 
USGC485 said:
Does applying for OCI/PIO affect obtaining a U.S. security clearance?
Click to expand...

Mere possession of OCI/PIO does not disqualify one from getting a security clearance. US government recognizes that OCI/PIO are just permanent/long term visas to facilitate travel to India and are in no way considered dual citizenship.

On the other hand even without OCI one can be denied the clearance if one has substantial financial ties to India (i.e. active bank accounts, stock market dealings, property, etc.), has many close relatives living there (spouse, children, parents, siblings, etc.) and visits are made very frequently. The security clearance process looks for chances that one can be "influenced" by a foreign entity into divulging classified information and if one has financial and close family ties to India that is seen as a sore point.

One of the drawbacks of obtaining security clearance is that one has to report ALL contacts (name of the person, relation, matter discussed, etc.) one has with anyone in India (or another foreign country) every time one travels there. For me it sounds pretty intrusive.
 
Dear Friends,
I am a naturalized US citizen and having a Security interview next week and I have couple of questions.
1) They have asked me to surrender my indian passport which I do not have problem with. My dilemma is, After surrendering my indian passport will I be able to get visa to India from Indian embassy as it also asks to surrender indian passport which I won't be able to provide?
2) Do I have to show my foreign accounts (old joint account with my parents) on the standard form 86 (SF-86)? I've been in US for more than 9 years now.

Please help me if you have any idea. Thanks,

SuMehta
 
SuMehta said:
Dear Friends,
I am a naturalized US citizen and having a Security interview next week and I have couple of questions.
1) They have asked me to surrender my indian passport which I do not have problem with. My dilemma is, After surrendering my indian passport will I be able to get visa to India from Indian embassy as it also asks to surrender indian passport which I won't be able to provide?
2) Do I have to show my foreign accounts (old joint account with my parents) on the standard form 86 (SF-86)? I've been in US for more than 9 years now.

Please help me if you have any idea. Thanks,

SuMehta
Click to expand...

1. I think the 'surrendering of foreign passport' is an issue with dual citizenship only. Get your last Indian passport canceled by Indian consulate/embassy and that should be sufficient for this requirement (since India doesn't permit dual citizenship). I don't think they are looking to physically confiscate your canceled Indian passport. See http://www.clearancejobs.com/security_clearance_faq.pdf

2. My guess is 'yes' since you have signature authority/controlling interest in those accounts.
 
Thank you akgarg.

Does any one happen to know whether Indian embassy (in DC area) issues visa on US passport and cancels Indian passport the same day or not? My understanding is the cancelled Indian passport will be returned to the applicant the same, right?

Thanks,
SuMehta
 
SuMehta said:
Thank you akgarg.

Does any one happen to know whether Indian embassy (in DC area) issues visa on US passport and cancels Indian passport the same day or not? My understanding is the cancelled Indian passport will be returned to the applicant the same, right?

Thanks,
SuMehta
Click to expand...

Yes, correct. It will be returned to the applicant, but sometimes not on the same day.
 
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