Is it likely he will still get his secret clearance for a job?

Question

About 2 weeks ago my husband was offered a job with the Government. Prior to starting the job he had to pass a background check in order to get his secret clearance for the job. Well they did the initial check, where you can have the temporary clearance in order to start working. He was denied this one, he thinks because of his credit history. He has some unpaid student loans that he think could be the reason. My question is that if he starts paying them in the meantime, is it still likely he will be able to get the secret clearancr or not?

Answer 1

This is really hard to say without knowing all the facts. If he was denied even the temporary clearance, he must have been in pretty deep water on his credit.  Obviously, the worse the situation, the more trouble it is going to be for his clearance.  

It also matters what he is doing to clean up his outstanding debts.  If he can bring them current right away (or, even better, if he can manage to pay them off entirely) that would be a big help.

Finally, there is also the question of what kind of clearance he is seeking.  Plain "Secret" is MUCH easier to get than Top Secret.  If he is applying for a TS clearance, they will be much more strict with him.  I am assuming that all he needs is a regular Secret clearance, so there is hope.  But as I said, the denial of a temporary isn't a good sign.

I know you were looking for a more positive answer, but I hope this helps.