DOJ Honors with foreign ties? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm interested in DOJ honors and think I'd be a good candidate, but I'm worried I'd get an offer then fail the background check. I don't want to turn down a biglaw offer then end up with nothing.

My partner is not a US citizen and has extensive family and financial ties to a major country that's relatively hostile to the US. He visits regularly and one of his parents works for a quasi-government entity there. He's a student in the US.

Is this something that would likely preclude my approval for a DOJ position? Not married currently but probably will be one day (after DOJ honors hiring). I spoke to one federal attorney (not DOJ) who said it wouldn't even possibly be an issue until after marriage, but from searching around online it looks like any foreign ties like this could be problematic for approval.

I'd appreciate any insight! Definitely not going to break up with my partner over this -- might just save myself the trouble of the application process though.

[Anonymous User]

I don’t *think* it would bar you. This is based on not knowing anyone whose foreign connections have barred them and my own experience with a foreign spouse, but admittedly my spouse’s country is historically friendly. Still, I don’t think this kind of thing bars people these days without some record of explicitly concerning anti-US behavior; if your partner is a student here presumably he got a visa to come here so passed that vetting process. It will make your background check take longer but that shouldn’t pose a problem, is just annoying.

Timing-wise, if you got an honors offer, I think you could reach out to OARM, the hiring arm that does the background checks, to get some input before you had to turn down any biglaw offer. I can’t guarantee they’d give you a definitive answer but they should be able to give you a better idea. (The feds being the feds, I don’t think you could reach out to them now for input.)

[Anonymous User]

This will probably depend on the Honors job you're targeting. I'm no expert on the process, but generally you're looking at either a hefty background check for a public trust position (You'll fill out an SF 85P, these aren't security clearances) or a heftier background check for a clearance (SF 86). Both forms will require you to disclose foreign contacts.

I've seen naturalized US citizens get clearances even though immediate family were non-citizens. I've also seen people get grilled during TS-SCI interviews about foreign contacts of any kind. I can't imagine that someone would be denied a clearance because of foreign contacts unless there's some additional information that suggests a security risk. That said, "relatively hostile" doesn't say much. It can be a pretty serious negative if you closely associate with someone from, like Iran or something, that's regularly traveled there and has family members in government. Have you visited this country with your SO/plan to in the future? Even if you get a clearance, I wouldn't count on getting travel approved.

Basically, the process is pretty holistic and is mostly just trying to make sure you aren't a spy/leaker. I'd imagine your process will be smoother if you aren't targeting NSD or something. But it's not an auto-deny without additional circumstances.

[Anonymous User]

I'm interested in DOJ honors and think I'd be a good candidate, but I'm worried I'd get an offer then fail the background check. I don't want to turn down a biglaw offer then end up with nothing.

My partner is not a US citizen and has extensive family and financial ties to a major country that's relatively hostile to the US. He visits regularly and one of his parents works for a quasi-government entity there. He's a student in the US.

Is this something that would likely preclude my approval for a DOJ position? Not married currently but probably will be one day (after DOJ honors hiring). I spoke to one federal attorney (not DOJ) who said it wouldn't even possibly be an issue until after marriage, but from searching around online it looks like any foreign ties like this could be problematic for approval.

I'd appreciate any insight! Definitely not going to break up with my partner over this -- might just save myself the trouble of the application process though.

AUSA here. Spouse is from an adversarial country and not yet a US citizen. All of her family remains in that country, although none of them have government ties. She regularly travels there, and I have also traveled to that country a couple of times, once before I was an AUSA and once after I became an AUSA (with permission from our security office). I myself am foreign born from a country with cultural ties to my wife's, although it is not adversarial to the US, and I have plenty of family in that country. Overall, I had no issues passing the background check - I think it just took a little longer than usual, although that could also be explained by Covid delays.