Dual Citizenship Clearance Holders to get Foreign Passports Back
The Defense Security Service (DSS) is preparing to issue a new Industrial Security Letter (ISL) providing guidance for the implementation of Security Executive Agent (SecEA) Directive 4 (SEAD 4), “National Security Adjudicative Guidelines, signed last year by the Director of National Intelligence. Specifically, guidance is being provided regarding Guideline C: Foreign Preference and those clearance holders who hold dual citizenship and a foreign passport. No longer will they be required to surrender the passport in order to mitigate foreign preference concerns. The ISL draft goes something like this:
In accordance with SEAD 4, cleared contractors will not be required by the Department of Defense Consolidated Adjudication Facility (CAF) to routinely retain or destroy foreign passports and/or identity cards as a means of mitigating security concerns for individuals who maintain dual citizenship with other countries.
In order to implement SEAD 4 cleared contractors who have retained a cleared employee’s foreign passport or identity card based on Department of Defense directions or personnel security adjudicative decisions will immediately return the foreign passport or identity card to the cleared employee.
The ISL also mandates additional reporting requirements in accordance with SEAD 3 for Facility Security Officers (FSO) and their clearance holders who retain their foreign passports. These new requirements include the FSO recording an incident report into JPAS (soon to be DISS) detailing that the passport was returned and that the employee was briefed on mandatory use of a U.S. passport when exiting and entering the U.S and reporting all travel outside of the U.S. when using the foreign passport. No timeline was given for the ISL release, but I imagine it will be sooner rather than later.
DSS released updated guidance IAW with SEAD- 4 regarding foreign passport holders:
Upon returning the foreign passport or identity card to the cleared employee, the facility security officer, or designated JPAS user acting on behalf of the contractor, will remind the cleared employee of their responsibility to enter and exit the United States using their U.S. passport.
The cleared contractor will submit incident reports if any cleared employees report use of a foreign passport to enter or exit the United States.
It all make sense now. A few months ago I received a phone call from an FSO for a company I worked for in 2007 asking me for my address. He then sent me my expired foreign passport that I had surrendered back then when I first got my clearance. Didn’t realize why and didn’t care to be honest