So my friend wants to work for a gov. agency and needs security clearance. Both of her parents are foreign nationals of el salvador, but reside here in the USA although they are not permanent residents or citizens. Will this prevent her from getting even confidential security clearance? Or is there still a chance? Thanks :-)

Is she a US citizen? Having parents from El Salvador by itself will not prevent her from obtaining a security clearance. All it will mean is more vetting by whichever agency her clearance will be under. Plus the agency isn’t investigating her parents anyway.

So my friend wants to work for a gov. agency and needs security clearance. Both of her parents are foreign nationals of el salvador, but reside here in the USA although they are not permanent residents or citizens. Will this prevent her from getting even confidential security clearance? Or is there still a chance? Please be nice or don't say anything. Thanks :-)

What makes you think you will get anything but polite answers here. If you get impolite answers here, they will not be from our experts and long time members.

Ler me put it this way, if her parents were PRs or even citizens, sure her chance would be good. As we can't answer for this gov't agency, all she can do is give her best shot and be completely up front with them.

Is she a US citizen? Having parents from El Salvador by itself will not prevent her from obtaining a security clearance. All it will mean is more vetting by whichever agency her clearance will be under. Plus the agency isn’t investigating her parents anyway.

Thanks for answering, and yes she is a citizen :-)


What makes you think you will get anything but polite answers here. If you get impolite answers here, they will not be from our experts and long time members.

Ler me put it this way, if her parents were PRs or even citizens, sure her chance would be good. As we can't answer for this gov't agency, all she can do is give her best shot and be completely up front with them.

Ok thanks!

There is no 'universal gov't agency' rule. There's federal, state, county, city, towns, all different. There's levels of security too, for different types of agencies, and different jobs within those agencies, which in your case probably matters the most. The question cannot be answered at all.

Usually it's federal only.

And with Federal... there isn't one single clearance process... there are in fact several (not to mention various levels and addendum's to those)... and they aren't transferable between them. Who does what depends wholly on who you will be working for. Meaning change employment to go from one to another (that uses a different issuing agency)....you will have to go through another clearance process. Unless you get lucky and they use the same...then its a lot quicker.