Security Clearance Process

I just got denied an interim security clearance.

For my degree program, I got to choose one elective course, for which I chose to do an internship. I thought that since I didn't do an internship for my undergraduate degree, it would be good to do one now.

And since I want to work for the Department of State as a diplomat, I thought it would be a good idea to apply at the Honolulu Passport Office. A diplomat's first year is usually spent doing the same kind of work, so working there would help me 1.) Get experience to help pass the oral assessment later this month, and 2.) Later to gain federal employment, since I would get a security clearance.

I was excited when I received the letter saying my application was accepted, and even moreso when I found out I would be the first intern to ever work there. I felt pretty smart.

The one contingency I didn't consider was how long it would take to get a clearance. Typically, an intern is given an "interim clearance," after which they can start working.

But I got an email this morning saying I wouldn't be permitted an interim clearance -- that I would have to go through the entire clearance process first. They didn't specify why, of course, but it might have to do with the fact that I lived overseas for a while and have a foreign-born spouse.

Even more than for the job experience, I really want this internship because of the security clearance and the chance to get federal employment later. According to this article, those with clearances make more than those without -- about 24 percent.

It just sucks that the people the State Department would really benefit from -- those with significant international experience -- are the ones that suffer most from their own security policies.