ISCR Case 07-15487.h1

Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 07-15487.h1

deniedOct 22, 2008· Hon. Mary E. Henry· hearing

Summary

A 49-year-old U.S. citizen and senior staff research engineer, originally from Taiwan, was denied a security clearance under Guidelines B (Foreign Influence) and C (Foreign Preference). The denial stemmed from concerns regarding his familial ties in the People's Republic of China (PRC).

While the judge acknowledged the applicant's loyalty to the U.S. and mitigating factors related to his family in Taiwan, his connections to family members in the PRC were deemed to pose significant security risks. His parents and sister are citizens and residents of Taiwan, with his father having health issues and his mother in very poor health. His sister works for the local government in Taiwan. The applicant's father-in-law, mother-in-law, and two brothers-in-law are citizens and residents of the PRC. One brother-in-law works for a city government in the PRC. The applicant's wife maintains regular contact with her family in the PRC.

The denial was based on the heightened risk of foreign exploitation, manipulation, or coercion due to his familial ties to the PRC. The applicant's wife's regular contact with her family in the PRC raised concerns about potential pressure to compromise classified information. Additionally, the applicant's travels to Taiwan and the PRC, and his relationships with family members in these countries, did not sufficiently mitigate the government's security concerns. The applicant had obtained a temporary Taiwanese ID card in 2006 at his father's request to sell land, but this was not found to indicate a preference for Taiwan.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant's familial ties to the PRC created a heightened risk of foreign exploitation, manipulation, or coercion.
The applicant's wife maintains regular contact with her family in the PRC, which raises concerns about potential pressure on the applicant to compromise classified information.
The applicant's frequent travels to Taiwan and the PRC, along with his relationships with family members in these countries, did not sufficiently mitigate the government's security concerns.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 7(a)appliedContact with Foreign Family Members
AG ¶ 7(b)appliedConnections to Foreign Persons Creating Potential Conflict of Interest

Mitigating

AG ¶ 8(a)appliedNature of Relationships with Foreign Persons Unlikely to Create Conflict
AG ¶ 8(b)appliedMinimal Conflict of Interest Due to Strong U.S. Ties

Key Rule Quoted

“The protection of the national security is the paramount consideration.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedJun 20, 2008
Answer filedJun 30, 2008
Hearing heldSep 30, 2008
Decision dateOct 22, 2008

Cite For

Foreign Influence Concerns Under Guideline B
Foreign Preference Issues Under Guideline C
Impact of Familial Ties in Security Clearance Determinations

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

¶	Allegation	Finding	Relationship	Country	Response	Disqualifying (¶7)	Mitigating applied (¶8)	Mitigation
2.a	Applicant’s parents are citizens and residents of Taiwan. His father is a retired builder and his mother was a homemaker. His father has some health issues. His mother is in very poor health as a result of her diabetes. His parents live off their savings. They do not received a government retirement income, but receive health care through the Taiwanese government’s universal health care program. His parents are not involved in politics and do not have contact with the Taiwanese government.	Against Applicant	Parent in Foreign Country Immediate Family	Taiwan HEIGHTENED RISK	Admitted	(a) contact with a foreign family member/associate/friend creating a heightened risk of exploitation (b) connections creating a potential conflict of interest	—	—
2.b	Applicant’s sister is a citizen and resident of Taiwan. She is married with two children and works as an elementary teacher for the local government. His brother is a U.S. citizen, residing in the U.S. He talks with his sister every two to three weeks and visits with her when he is in Taiwan.	For Applicant	Sibling in Foreign Country Immediate Family	Taiwan HEIGHTENED RISK	Admitted	—	—	—
2.c	Applicant’s father-in-law, mother-in-law, and two brothers-in-law are citizens and residents of the PRC. He met his in-laws during his travels to the PRC while courting his wife. Since their marriage, he and his wife have returned to the PRC once, in 2005. His in-laws have visited he and his family in the U.S. twice, one time for a year. His father-in-law and mother-in-law are retired, and he believes they receive a government pension. One brother-in-law works for a city government in the PRC and the other brother-in-law is unemployed.	For Applicant	In Law in Foreign Country Immediate Family	People's Republic of China HEIGHTENED RISK	Admitted	(a) contact with a foreign family member/associate/friend creating a heightened risk of exploitation (b) connections creating a potential conflict of interest	—	—
2.d	His wife continues to speak with her parents and brothers on a regular basis. In light of the intelligence activities of the PRC directed to the U.S. through Americans of Chinese ancestry, Applicant has not mitigated the government’s security concerns under AG ¶¶ 8 (a) and (b) as to his in-laws.	Against Applicant	In Law in Foreign Country Immediate Family	People's Republic of China HEIGHTENED RISK	Admitted	(a) contact with a foreign family member/associate/friend creating a heightened risk of exploitation (b) connections creating a potential conflict of interest	—	—
2.e	Applicant has not purchased any property in Taiwan nor does he have any financial assets or investments in Taiwan or the PRC. He owns a house in the U.S., his bank accounts are in the U.S., he purchases U.S. savings bonds, and has a retirement investment account in the U.S.	For Applicant	Unspecified Foreign Relationship Other	—	Admitted	—	—	—
2.f	Applicant has not had any contacts with government officials while in Taiwan. He talks with his father by telephone twice a week, but he does not talk with his mother any more because she is on a feeding tube.	For Applicant	Parent in Foreign Country Immediate Family	Taiwan HEIGHTENED RISK	Admitted	—	—	—

Allegation

Finding

Relationship

Country

Response

Disqualifying (¶7)

Mitigating applied (¶8)

Mitigation

2.a

Applicant’s parents are citizens and residents of Taiwan. His father is a retired builder and his mother was a homemaker. His father has some health issues. His mother is in very poor health as a result of her diabetes. His parents live off their savings. They do not received a government retirement income, but receive health care through the Taiwanese government’s universal health care program. His parents are not involved in politics and do not have contact with the Taiwanese government.

Against Applicant

Parent in Foreign Country

Immediate Family

Taiwan

HEIGHTENED RISK

Admitted

(a) contact with a foreign family member/associate/friend creating a heightened risk of exploitation

(b) connections creating a potential conflict of interest

—

2.b

Applicant’s sister is a citizen and resident of Taiwan. She is married with two children and works as an elementary teacher for the local government. His brother is a U.S. citizen, residing in the U.S. He talks with his sister every two to three weeks and visits with her when he is in Taiwan.

For Applicant

Sibling in Foreign Country

Immediate Family

Taiwan

HEIGHTENED RISK

Admitted

—

2.c

Applicant’s father-in-law, mother-in-law, and two brothers-in-law are citizens and residents of the PRC. He met his in-laws during his travels to the PRC while courting his wife. Since their marriage, he and his wife have returned to the PRC once, in 2005. His in-laws have visited he and his family in the U.S. twice, one time for a year. His father-in-law and mother-in-law are retired, and he believes they receive a government pension. One brother-in-law works for a city government in the PRC and the other brother-in-law is unemployed.

For Applicant

In Law in Foreign Country

Immediate Family

People's Republic of China

HEIGHTENED RISK

Admitted

(a) contact with a foreign family member/associate/friend creating a heightened risk of exploitation

(b) connections creating a potential conflict of interest

—

2.d

His wife continues to speak with her parents and brothers on a regular basis. In light of the intelligence activities of the PRC directed to the U.S. through Americans of Chinese ancestry, Applicant has not mitigated the government’s security concerns under AG ¶¶ 8 (a) and (b) as to his in-laws.

Against Applicant

In Law in Foreign Country

Immediate Family

People's Republic of China

HEIGHTENED RISK

Admitted

(a) contact with a foreign family member/associate/friend creating a heightened risk of exploitation

(b) connections creating a potential conflict of interest

—

2.e

Applicant has not purchased any property in Taiwan nor does he have any financial assets or investments in Taiwan or the PRC. He owns a house in the U.S., his bank accounts are in the U.S., he purchases U.S. savings bonds, and has a retirement investment account in the U.S.

For Applicant

Unspecified Foreign Relationship

Other

—

Admitted

—

2.f

Applicant has not had any contacts with government officials while in Taiwan. He talks with his father by telephone twice a week, but he does not talk with his mother any more because she is on a feeding tube.

For Applicant

Parent in Foreign Country

Immediate Family

Taiwan

HEIGHTENED RISK

Admitted

—

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶10)	Mitigating applied (¶11)	Mitigation
1.a	In 2006, at the request of his father, Applicant obtained an ID card issued by the Taiwanese government when he was visiting Taiwan. His father requested Applicant obtain the ID so he could obtain a power of attorney to sell a piece of land owned by Applicant’s father, but had been titled in Applicant’s name by his father. His father paid all the taxes and expenses related to up keeping this land. Applicant did not use the ID card to obtain any benefits of Taiwanese citizenship or to show a preference for Taiwan over the U.S. Rather, his father needed the ID card to obtain a power of attorney to sell a piece of land. The card expired after 6 months.	For Applicant	Failure to Renounce or Surrender Foreign Status	Admitted	—	—	—

Allegation

Finding

Type

Response

Disqualifying (¶10)

Mitigating applied (¶11)

Mitigation

1.a

In 2006, at the request of his father, Applicant obtained an ID card issued by the Taiwanese government when he was visiting Taiwan. His father requested Applicant obtain the ID so he could obtain a power of attorney to sell a piece of land owned by Applicant’s father, but had been titled in Applicant’s name by his father. His father paid all the taxes and expenses related to up keeping this land. Applicant did not use the ID card to obtain any benefits of Taiwanese citizenship or to show a preference for Taiwan over the U.S. Rather, his father needed the ID card to obtain a power of attorney to sell a piece of land. The card expired after 6 months.

For Applicant

Failure to Renounce or Surrender Foreign Status

Admitted

—

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Case Profile

Summary

Why the Applicant Was Denied

Conditions Referenced

Key Rule Quoted

Procedural Posture

Cite For

Full decision

DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS

HEARING

APPEARANCES

STATEMENT OF CASE

FINDINGS OF FACT

POLICIES

ANALYSIS

WHOLE PERSON CONCEPT

FORMAL FINDINGS

CONCLUSION

FOOTNOTES