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ISCR Case 22-02065 — CASE

Case record

ISCR Case 22-02065

A decided public DOHA case, shown for research — not advice or a prediction.

Case Profile
Decision Date8/26/2024
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Nichole L. Noel
Government Counsel: Jeff Kent
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 45-year-old engineer who had worked for a federal contracting company since November 2019 and had previously served in the U.S. Navy Reserve and U.S. Air Force Reserve. The Department of Defense (DOD) issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) citing financial considerations as the basis for denying his security clearance. The core allegations included the applicant's failure to manage his student loans, which were reported as delinquent, and his lack of a repayment plan despite having opportunities for financial rehabilitation.
During the hearing, the applicant admitted to having financial difficulties stemming from his first marriage and acknowledged that he had not made consistent payments on his student loans since at least 2013. He had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2013, which discharged other debts but did not include his student loans. Although he had some income, he prioritized child support payments over his student loans and did not take advantage of the Covid-19 emergency relief or the Fresh Start Program offered by the Department of Education to rehabilitate his loans.
The administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that he had not demonstrated sufficient financial responsibility or provided a legitimate plan to address his delinquent debts. The judge noted that the applicant's failure to take advantage of available financial relief opportunities raised significant concerns about his securityworthiness. Consequently, the applicant's request for a security clearance was denied, as it was determined that granting access to classified information was not clearly consistent with national interest.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline FFinancial Considerations · Against Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 22-02065

deniedAug 26, 2024· Hon. Nichole L. Noel· hearing

Summary

A 45-year-old engineer was denied a security clearance under Guideline F (Financial Considerations) due to delinquent student loans totaling $110,635. The Department of Defense's Statement of Reasons alleged that the applicant had not taken any steps to rehabilitate these loans despite available opportunities.

The judge found that the applicant failed to address his significant student loan debt. Specifically, he did not take any steps to rehabilitate the loans, nor did he present a legitimate repayment plan to resolve the outstanding debts. These omissions raised concerns regarding his reliability and trustworthiness.

Consequently, the applicant's security clearance was denied, with the decision citing his failure to mitigate the financial concerns outlined in the allegations.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant did not take any steps to rehabilitate his student loans despite having opportunities to do so.
He failed to present a legitimate plan to resolve his debts, which raised concerns about his reliability and trustworthiness.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 19(a)raisedInability to Satisfy Debts
AG ¶ 19(c)raisedA History of Not Meeting Financial Obligations

Key Rule Quoted

“Security clearance adjudications are not debt collection proceedings. Rather the purpose of the adjudication is to make an examination of a sufficient period of a person’s life to make an affirmative determination that the person is an acceptable security risk.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedNov 18, 2022
Answer filed—
Hearing heldDec 6, 2023
Decision dateAug 26, 2024

Cite For

Failure to Rehabilitate Delinquent Debts Under Guideline F
Lack of a Legitimate Repayment Plan as a Basis for Denial
Consideration of Financial Obligations in Security Clearance Adjudications

Editorial summary generated for research. Not legal advice; not a prediction. Verify against the full decision before relying on any quoted language.

Standardized Decision Profile

SEAD-4 Guideline F · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found that the applicant has not taken any steps to rehabilitate his student loans, which total $110,635, and has a history of not meeting financial obligations. As a result, the application for a security clearance was denied due to financial considerations under Guideline F.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant has not taken any steps to rehabilitate his student loans, despite having the opportunity to do so. $110,635	Against Applicant	Student Loan Debt	Unknown	(a) inability to satisfy debts (c) a history of not meeting financial obligations	—	—

Descriptive standardized rendering of a decided public case (Guideline F). The verbatim source decision is shown in full below.

Full decision

The complete, official text — footnotes and signatures included — is in the original PDF.