ISCR Case 08-06795.h1

Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 08-06795.h1

grantedJan 27, 2012· Hon. Francisco Mendez· hearing

Summary

A 36-year-old U.S. citizen, originally from Pakistan, was granted a security clearance despite concerns under Guideline B (Foreign Influence) due to his extensive family ties in Pakistan. The applicant has served as a government contractor in Afghanistan for nearly seven years, directly supporting U.S. national security efforts.

The Statement of Reasons detailed that his mother, two brothers, and three sisters, along with their spouses, are resident-citizens of Pakistan. One brother is a Pakistani military officer in a civil engineering unit, and the other works for a private cell phone company, having previously contracted for the Pakistani government. Two sisters work for local schools, and the third, married to a cell phone company employee, does not work outside the home. The applicant maintains regular contact with one sister for updates on his mother. His fourth sister is a U.S. citizen living in the U.S. with her U.S. citizen husband, who also holds a security clearance and works as a government contractor in Afghanistan. The applicant also has a childhood friend in Pakistan whose profession is unclear, and a NATO contract barber from Country Y in Afghanistan. He reported no expected inheritance from his grandmothers or mother. Additionally, he repaid a significant loan from a U.S. citizen cousin and recently lent the cousin approximately $15,000.

The judge found that the applicant mitigated the foreign influence concerns, citing his strong commitment to U.S. national security through his work in Afghanistan and his transparency in reporting his family ties. His actions in support of U.S. troops were deemed to outweigh the foreign influence concerns, leading to the clearance being granted.

Why the Applicant Prevailed

The applicant demonstrated a strong commitment to U.S. national security through his work in Afghanistan.
He maintained transparency about his family ties in Pakistan and reported them in his security clearance application.
The applicant's actions in support of U.S. troops were deemed to outweigh the foreign influence concerns.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 6(a)raisedForeign Influence

Mitigating

AG ¶ 8(a)appliedThe Nature of the Applicant's Service and the Potential for Foreign Influence Are Mitigated by His Long-term Employment in a Critical Role Supporting U.S. Interests.
AG ¶ 8(b)appliedThe Applicant's Family Ties Do Not Pose a Risk to National Security Due to His Demonstrated Loyalty and Commitment to the U.S.

Key Rule Quoted

“The administrative judge’s overarching adjudicative goal is a fair, impartial, and commonsense decision.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedMay 19, 2011
Answer filedSep 26, 2011
Hearing heldSep 1, 2011Hearing conducted with applicant present.
Decision dateJan 27, 2012

Cite For

Mitigation of Foreign Influence Concerns Under Guideline B
Importance of Service to U.S. National Security in Clearance Decisions
Consideration of Familial Ties in Security Clearance Evaluations

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
1.a	Applicant admitted that his mother, two brothers, and three of his sisters, as well as his married siblings’ respective spouses, are resident-citizens of Pakistan.	For Applicant	Parent in Foreign Country Immediate Family	Pakistan HEIGHTENED RISK	Admitted	—	(b) deep/longstanding U.S. loyalties; conflict resolves in favor of the U.S.	Claimed Deep U.S. Ties
1.b	Applicant’s two brothers are resident-citizens of Pakistan. One is an officer in the Pakistani military, assigned to a civil engineering unit doing reconstruction work. He holds a rank below Colonel. He is married, and his wife is also a resident-citizen of Pakistan. Applicant’s other brother currently works for a private cell phone company, but previously worked as a contractor for the Pakistani government.	For Applicant	Sibling in Foreign Country Immediate Family GOVT-AFFILIATED	Pakistan HEIGHTENED RISK	Admitted	—	(b) deep/longstanding U.S. loyalties; conflict resolves in favor of the U.S.	Claimed Deep U.S. Ties
1.c	Three of Applicant’s four sisters are resident-citizens of Pakistan. Two of these sisters work for local schools in Pakistan. The other does not have a job outside the home and is married to a resident-citizen of Pakistan. Her husband works for the same cell phone company as Applicant’s brother.	For Applicant	Sibling in Foreign Country Immediate Family	Pakistan HEIGHTENED RISK	Admitted	—	(b) deep/longstanding U.S. loyalties; conflict resolves in favor of the U.S.	Claimed Deep U.S. Ties
1.d	Applicant is in regular contact with his middle sister in Pakistan, who keeps him informed of his mother’s wellbeing. He speaks less often to his other two sisters in Pakistan.	For Applicant	Sibling in Foreign Country Immediate Family	Pakistan HEIGHTENED RISK	Admitted	—	(b) deep/longstanding U.S. loyalties; conflict resolves in favor of the U.S.	Claimed Deep U.S. Ties
1.e	Applicant’s fourth sister is a U.S. citizen, living in the United States. Applicant’s mother lives with her when she visits the U.S. Applicant’s sister is married and her husband is a U.S. citizen. He holds a security clearance and is a Government contractor working in Afghanistan.	For Applicant	Sibling in Foreign Country Immediate Family	Pakistan HEIGHTENED RISK	Denied	—	—	—
1.f	He did not receive anything from the estates of his grandmothers when they died, and does not expect to inherit from his mother’s meager estate when she dies.	For Applicant	Unspecified Foreign Relationship Other	Pakistan HEIGHTENED RISK	Admitted	—	—	—
1.g	Applicant became friends with his barber while assigned to Afghanistan. She is from Country Y and is a contract barber for NATO working in Afghanistan. She works on one of the U.S. military installations and was screened by the Government before being allowed to work on the installation.	For Applicant	Friend in Foreign Country Friend	Country Y	Admitted	—	—	—
1.h	Applicant has a childhood friend who is a resident-citizen of Pakistan, and lives close to his mother’s house in Pakistan. Applicant is unsure what his friend does for a living, but he previously worked for a cell phone company in Pakistan. His friend never worked for the Pakistani government or military.	For Applicant	Friend in Foreign Country Friend	Pakistan HEIGHTENED RISK	Admitted	—	—	—
1.i	Applicant is close to a cousin who is a U.S. citizen. Several years ago, Applicant borrowed a significant amount of money from his cousin to pay-off some personal debt. Applicant repaid his cousin this loan, and recently lent his cousin about $15,000 so his cousin could purchase a condo in the United States.	For Applicant	Extended Family in Foreign Country Extended Family	Pakistan HEIGHTENED RISK	Admitted	—	(b) deep/longstanding U.S. loyalties; conflict resolves in favor of the U.S.	Claimed Deep U.S. Ties

Allegation

Finding

Relationship

Country

Response

Disqualifying (¶7)

Mitigating applied (¶8)

Mitigation

1.a

Applicant admitted that his mother, two brothers, and three of his sisters, as well as his married siblings’ respective spouses, are resident-citizens of Pakistan.

For Applicant

Parent in Foreign Country

Immediate Family

Pakistan

HEIGHTENED RISK

Admitted

—

(b) deep/longstanding U.S. loyalties; conflict resolves in favor of the U.S.

Claimed

Deep U.S. Ties

1.b

Applicant’s two brothers are resident-citizens of Pakistan. One is an officer in the Pakistani military, assigned to a civil engineering unit doing reconstruction work. He holds a rank below Colonel. He is married, and his wife is also a resident-citizen of Pakistan. Applicant’s other brother currently works for a private cell phone company, but previously worked as a contractor for the Pakistani government.

For Applicant

Sibling in Foreign Country

Immediate Family

GOVT-AFFILIATED

Pakistan

HEIGHTENED RISK

Admitted

—

(b) deep/longstanding U.S. loyalties; conflict resolves in favor of the U.S.

Claimed

Deep U.S. Ties

1.c

Three of Applicant’s four sisters are resident-citizens of Pakistan. Two of these sisters work for local schools in Pakistan. The other does not have a job outside the home and is married to a resident-citizen of Pakistan. Her husband works for the same cell phone company as Applicant’s brother.

For Applicant

Sibling in Foreign Country

Immediate Family

Pakistan

HEIGHTENED RISK

Admitted

—

(b) deep/longstanding U.S. loyalties; conflict resolves in favor of the U.S.

Claimed

Deep U.S. Ties

1.d

Applicant is in regular contact with his middle sister in Pakistan, who keeps him informed of his mother’s wellbeing. He speaks less often to his other two sisters in Pakistan.

For Applicant

Sibling in Foreign Country

Immediate Family

Pakistan

HEIGHTENED RISK

Admitted

—

(b) deep/longstanding U.S. loyalties; conflict resolves in favor of the U.S.

Claimed

Deep U.S. Ties

1.e

Applicant’s fourth sister is a U.S. citizen, living in the United States. Applicant’s mother lives with her when she visits the U.S. Applicant’s sister is married and her husband is a U.S. citizen. He holds a security clearance and is a Government contractor working in Afghanistan.

For Applicant

Sibling in Foreign Country

Immediate Family

Pakistan

HEIGHTENED RISK

Denied

—

1.f

He did not receive anything from the estates of his grandmothers when they died, and does not expect to inherit from his mother’s meager estate when she dies.

For Applicant

Unspecified Foreign Relationship

Other

Pakistan

HEIGHTENED RISK

Admitted

—

1.g

Applicant became friends with his barber while assigned to Afghanistan. She is from Country Y and is a contract barber for NATO working in Afghanistan. She works on one of the U.S. military installations and was screened by the Government before being allowed to work on the installation.

For Applicant

Friend in Foreign Country

Friend

Country Y

Admitted

—

1.h

Applicant has a childhood friend who is a resident-citizen of Pakistan, and lives close to his mother’s house in Pakistan. Applicant is unsure what his friend does for a living, but he previously worked for a cell phone company in Pakistan. His friend never worked for the Pakistani government or military.

For Applicant

Friend in Foreign Country

Friend

Pakistan

HEIGHTENED RISK

Admitted

—

1.i

Applicant is close to a cousin who is a U.S. citizen. Several years ago, Applicant borrowed a significant amount of money from his cousin to pay-off some personal debt. Applicant repaid his cousin this loan, and recently lent his cousin about $15,000 so his cousin could purchase a condo in the United States.

For Applicant

Extended Family in Foreign Country

Extended Family

Pakistan

HEIGHTENED RISK

Admitted

—

(b) deep/longstanding U.S. loyalties; conflict resolves in favor of the U.S.

Claimed

Deep U.S. Ties

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Case Profile

Summary

Why the Applicant Prevailed

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