How long does it take to get a Homeland security clearance?
First, let’s cover the basics. 1. If you’ve never had a clearance before Depends on the level of clearance you are seeking, as well as how much investigation of your background is required. Getting access to collateral information (Top Secret and below) is easier than getting access to sensitive information (Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmentalized Information and above). As for your background — if you have spent a lot of time living overseas, or you are married to a foreign national (e.g. Syria), the time you spend waiting for your security clearance might be measured in years (I had a friend who married someone from a non-ally country; he got his TS in 3.5 years). In short, if you didn’t marry anyone exotic and you’ve never lived overseas (or worked for a foreign government), if it’s TS or below, it should take a little less than six months. If it’s SCI, it will probably take more than six months, but probably less than a year. According to a recent story in the Federal Times: Techno
