Foreign Links Impede Clearance

In an October 11 Washington Post article on the lack of FBI agents proficient in Arabic, the FBI’s head of language services acknowledges that foreign links complicate Bureau security clearance investigations.

Special agents, for example, must be U.S. citizens. They also must undergo background checks that are much more difficult to pass if the candidate has relatives or friends overseas.

According to the article, this concern is shared by Georgetown University professor, Daniel Byman:

It is easier to get a security clearance if you don’t have any interaction with foreigners, which is not what you want if you want better interaction with foreigners, Byman said.

Filed Under: Procedures