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Summary

The applicant, a 30-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Georgia, sought a security clearance under Guideline B (Foreign Influence) and Guideline C (Foreign Preference). The applicant admitted to having family members in Georgia and previously held a Georgian passport, but demonstrated credible efforts to renounce her Georgian citizenship and established her loyalty to the United States. The judge found that the applicant mitigated the security concerns, granting her eligibility for access to classified information.

Under Guideline B (Foreign Influence) and Guideline C (Foreign Preference), the Statement of Reasons alleged the following: has a mother and father who are citizens and residents of the Republic of Georgia (1.a). has a brother who is a citizen and resident of the Republic of Georgia (1.b). maintains contact with friends that are citizens and residents of the Republic of Georgia (1.c). has a valid foreign passport from the Republic of Georgia and is not sure of its location and has not taken appropriate steps to invalidate this passport (2.a). has used her Georgia passport for travel outside the United States (2.b). lived in the Republic of Georgia from December 2011 to June 2012 (2.c).

The judge granted the clearance. The government raised disqualifying conditions AG ¶ 6, AG ¶ 9. The judge applied mitigating conditions AG ¶ 20, AG ¶ 21. The decision turned on the following: The applicant demonstrated credible efforts to renounce her Georgian citizenship; The applicant maintained that she has no loyalties to Georgia and considers the U.S. her home; The applicant's family members in Georgia have no affiliations with the Georgian government or military.

Why the Applicant Prevailed

• The applicant demonstrated credible efforts to renounce her Georgian citizenship.
• The applicant maintained that she has no loyalties to Georgia and considers the U.S. her home.
• The applicant's family members in Georgia have no affiliations with the Georgian government or military.

Conditions Referenced

Key Rule Quoted

“The adjudicative process is designed to examine a sufficient period of an applicant’s life to enable predictive judgments about whether the applicant is an acceptable security risk.”

Procedural Posture

• SOR issuedNov 7, 2014
• Answer filedDec 31, 2014
• Hearing heldJun 15, 2015
• Decision dateDec 10, 2015

Cite For

• Mitigation of Foreign Influence Concerns Under Guideline B
• Mitigation of Foreign Preference Concerns Under Guideline C
• Credibility of Applicant's Renunciation of Foreign Citizenship