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Has anyone here gone through the AUSA FBI background check with extensive foreign ties?

Foreign-born U.S. citizen. Raised in the U.S., but frequent travel to my birth country to visit my extended family. Spouse was also born abroad.

Obviously, I'm loyal to the United States and have never collaborated with a foreign government. But I'm wondering if anyone has any insight into whether this will cause me to fail the background check.

Should be fine, but it probably depends on the country. If you’re from a boring Commonwealth/Western European country I can’t imagine it raising any eyebrows. If you’re from the former USSR (particularly Russia/Ukraine) or the Middle East, it will be more of an issue. Most of the rest of the world will fall somewhere in between.

I’m a former JAG and current AUSA, so I’ve been through a few background investigations and have plenty of friends who have, too. (Background info is why I’m posting anon...)

You will likely face a delay in clearance, but not a denial. The point of the investigation is to asses your honesty and loyalty to the nation, not to weed out people with diverse national birthplaces. You’ll need to be forthright with your answers, but you should come out the other side.

Caveat: If you have family or friends who are in governmental/intelligence positions in that foreign gov, you may have further bumps.

I’m an AUSA, and I’m a dual citizen with a foreign-born spouse, with a fair amount of travel to see my and their family. I haven’t had any problems with the background checks. It’s a pain because you have to list everyone/all travel on the form and I never remember everything, and I get asked about it in the interview part, but it hasn’t raised concerns that I’m aware of. As hlsperson noted, though, my foreign countries are all boring western traditional allies. It might be different for less comfortable countries.

OP here. Thanks for the replies.

Unfortunately, my spouse and I are from Russia/Ukraine/the Balkans, which gives me some concern regarding the background check. I would note that my spouse and I have no affiliation or previous involvement with a foreign government, and the same is true for our family/friends, so I think that is to our advantage, but I am concerned it will be an uphill battle given the current state of affairs.