Posted on Nov 22, 2020
Is the requirement that your immediate family be U.S. citizens waiverable for the 35L MOS?
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Hi everyone,
I spent 6 years in the Army National Guard as an 11B, eventually leaving as a SGT. Recently I've been considering going back into the NG or reserves as a 35L. However, one requirement that I see popping up in addition to TS/SCI eligibility is that your immediate family must be U.S. citizens. My parents are citizens of Canada, and my father served in the Canadian Air Force in the 1970s. My parents currently reside in the U.S. and have not been to Canada in almost 30 years, with no plans to ever move back there. However, they are not U.S. citizens, and reside here legally on green cards. I also possess dual citizenship with Canada, which I have never used and would be willing to renounce if necessary. I'm already well aware that this foreign influence can cause additional hurdles in clearance processing, but I'm wondering if the requirement that your immediate family be U.S. citizens is waiverable for this MOS? Would I be wasting my time in pursuing this path, or is there hope for me with that background? Any guidance from those in the CI career field would be appreciated!
I spent 6 years in the Army National Guard as an 11B, eventually leaving as a SGT. Recently I've been considering going back into the NG or reserves as a 35L. However, one requirement that I see popping up in addition to TS/SCI eligibility is that your immediate family must be U.S. citizens. My parents are citizens of Canada, and my father served in the Canadian Air Force in the 1970s. My parents currently reside in the U.S. and have not been to Canada in almost 30 years, with no plans to ever move back there. However, they are not U.S. citizens, and reside here legally on green cards. I also possess dual citizenship with Canada, which I have never used and would be willing to renounce if necessary. I'm already well aware that this foreign influence can cause additional hurdles in clearance processing, but I'm wondering if the requirement that your immediate family be U.S. citizens is waiverable for this MOS? Would I be wasting my time in pursuing this path, or is there hope for me with that background? Any guidance from those in the CI career field would be appreciated!
Posted in these groups: 
35L: Counterintelligence (CI) Agent
Security Clearance
Military Intelligence
Counterintelligence
Citizenship
35L: Counterintelligence (CI) Agent Security Clearance Military Intelligence Counterintelligence Citizenship
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 6
no Bueno my dude. They would disqualify you not necessarily because of your citizen status (thats easy to waiver) the issue you will run in to is the fact that your father served in a foreign military. CI is super strict when it comes to things like this. After all, you would be dealing with threats to national security and under the extremely unlikely scenario Canada decides to turn on the US, the question is who would your family support.
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SGT David Anthony
Thanks for the response SSG. This is kind of what I was expecting, but I wanted to double check. I know CI is especially strict on things like this, so I'll look into some other career fields in MI and see if there's any other jobs that are more forgiving of my background.
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SSG (Join to see)
SGT David Anthony - look into the MI fields that dont require a polygraph like 35F or 35G
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To even get a TS/SCI you have to be a US citizen -and cannot be a dual citizen. You would have to renounce any Canadian citizenship. Once that's done, it ultimately depends on the investigation process for the T5. If OPM is still backed up it could be awhile. Depends on the investigator and if they can get ahold of people they need to and you.
For 35L, I'm not sure on all that. You'd have to reach out to a CI recruiter on that to find out any waivers.
For 35L, I'm not sure on all that. You'd have to reach out to a CI recruiter on that to find out any waivers.
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SGT David Anthony
Thanks for the insight SFC. I am a native-born US citizen who got the Canadian citizenship through parental lineage. As I've lived and worked in the US my whole life, I obviously feel a much stronger connection and loyalty to the US than to Canada. I'll see about contacting a CI recruiter to get specifics though.
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While concurring with my CI colleagues I would say submit the application, present full disclosure and see what, if any, waivers are obtainable. It’s worth a shot.
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SGT David Anthony
Thanks SFC. I'll see if I can get in touch with a CI recruiter and see if it's possible or not.
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John Marder
If you renounce your other citizenship but still have family living in another country, even a friendly country like the UK, is that worth pursuing a waiver?
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