Security Clearance and Foreign Contacts Attorney
Foreign contacts are naturally a concern for the federal government when granting individuals access to classified information. Adversary and even friendly nations are constantly seeking to uncover the United States’ national security secrets.
Security clearance guidelines have specific reporting requirements, and an individual seeking a security clearance must be totally forthcoming during the investigation process. There is also an ongoing obligation to report these contacts while holding a security clearance.
Reporting foreign contacts has become more difficult in recent years due to the explosion of social media, through which people can maintain regular contact with foreign nationals halfway around the world. Federal employees, government contractors, and military service members must be aware of these requirements, especially when traveling overseas, where they will have more contact with foreign nationals.
Understanding Foreign Contacts and Security Clearance Vulnerabilities
Foreign influence (Guideline B of Security Executive Agent Directive (SEAD) 4) can come from many places, but adjudicators also evaluate the nature and depth of a relationship with a foreign person and whether it could create pressure, divided loyalties, or vulnerability to coercion or exploitation, especially when government, military, or intelligence ties could compromise national security information.
Failing to report potential security concerns, such as foreign contacts, is as big a red flag as the foreign contact itself. Complete honesty and timely reporting are critical.
Certain countries of origin will naturally come in for more scrutiny than others. Contacts of the same nature from Russia or Iran will be of more heightened concern than those from the United Kingdom or Canada, for example, but the country involved is only one factor in the broader foreign influence analysis.
Defining “Close and Continuing” Foreign Contacts
The reporting requirements are set out in SEAD 3 and should be read alongside SEAD 4, as both directives help determine what must be disclosed.
Similarly, having foreign business relationships must also be reported.
- Foreign contacts must be reported in specific circumstances:
- Any contact with a known or suspected intelligence entity from a foreign country.
- Any continuing association with foreign nationals that involves bonds of affection, personal obligation, or intimate contact, using the complete definition of reportable contact under SEAD 3.
- The SF-86, the standard form used in the clearance process, provides one description, but SEAD 3 gives a broader description and a more complete definition of what must be reported, including close and/or continuing contact with foreign nationals within the last seven years and when you exchanged personal information.
- A person report is also required when you exchange personal information with a foreign national in a reportable context.
- Foreign national roommates should also be reported, as such contact is considered close and continuing.
Social Media and Potential Foreign Influence Concerns
The expansion of social media apps and websites has enabled communication across the world, connecting families and people with common interests. While this is a great technological advance, it can also create security clearance issues, since foreign associations today often begin online and may also grow out of academic collaborations or foreign travel.
SEAD 3 has been updated to clarify that close and continuing associations with known foreign nationals must be reported, regardless of how the contact is maintained, specifically calling out the use of the internet to make contact.
This means you should report foreign contacts that begin through dating apps, Facebook, or online discussion boards when they meet the other reporting criteria, and transparency and consistency matter because undisclosed online relationships can draw greater scrutiny.
Navigating High-Risk Disclosures: Family Ties and Foreign Government Links
Having friends and family living in foreign countries can cause a security clearance investigation to drag out, and those family connections or other foreign relationships are not automatically disqualifying, but they can create red flags when they create continuing ties to the foreign country.
Any foreign national friends or family who have connections with their home government, military, or intelligence services will come in for special scrutiny, and adjudicators look closely at emotional closeness and any financial interdependence.
Even foreign friends and family who are retired from government or military service can be a concern where the person receives a pension or other government benefits, as that creates a means for influence by the foreign government to use the person to seek to elicit sensitive information.
Real estate and bank accounts in foreign countries, as well as overseas ties such as dual citizenship, also create the potential for foreign influence. Any property owned or promised in a will or trust should be reported, although stronger ties to the United States than to foreign countries can help mitigate concerns arising from foreign property, relatives, or other overseas interests.
Effective Mitigation Strategies for Foreign Influence Concerns
When applying for a security clearance, you should prepare a roster of all foreign contacts, business interests, and property you may own or be entitled to.
For each foreign national, you should provide the country of origin, nature of the relationship, and the frequency of contact, along with all contact information you know or can find.
If you are uncertain of whether to report a foreign contact or connection, err on the side of disclosure. Contacting a law firm experienced with these issues can help make sense of these distinctions.
When to Consult a Security Clearance Attorney for Foreign Contact Issues
Often, when individuals have many foreign contacts, there is a concern about who should or should not be reported, how to provide the correct information, and how it will affect the security clearance process, security clearance eligibility, and federal employment. In adjudications, reviewers examine the nature, frequency, and depth of the relationship, and whether it creates vulnerability to foreign influence, coercion, or exploitation. While foreign contact reporting requirements are spelled out in the adjudicative guidelines, including disqualifying and mitigating conditions, they are not always easy to interpret.
Failing to list foreign contacts that are known to other people in your life, providing too little information about a foreign contact, or providing inconsistent information on security forms and interviews can all create headaches and delays in the security clearance application process. Those inconsistencies can also have a negative impact because adjudicators evaluate the credibility of your explanations and the durability of mitigation efforts, including applicable mitigating conditions.
If you discover you have mistakenly omitted a foreign contact or provided incorrect information, you should disclose it to your local security office promptly. That step is of utmost importance because it can help preserve continued access authorization and support a manageable outcome when the relationship is transparent and fully disclosed.
An experienced security clearance lawyer with a focused security clearance practice can help you determine if, when, and how to report potential security concerns, specifically foreign contacts.
Contact Us for a Free, Confidential Consultation
Contact us today to discuss your security clearance concerns with an experienced attorney. Brian@LSAttorneys.com; 847-775-7701.
