Last week, I calls DSS to check the status of my security clearance. I already knew from a previous call that they were going to miss my target date of January 4th, because of a "lead pending.' That news had upset me as I knew from the A-100 board that "lead pending" could translate into months of waiting just for the information-gathering part of the process to complete. So I was quite encouraged to learn, with that last phone call, that this phase of my case had been completed after all, albeit one or two days late.
The next step would be the decision as to whether my case would go straight to Final Suitability Review or face the dreaded detour of Adjudications. I read on the A-100 board that a majority of the cases do end up going through adjudications. That can add merely days or, unfortunately, months to the processing time. Even more unfortunately, that's where a candidacy can reach a final and irrevocable end. (If adjudications turns you down, you can appeal, but statistics, apparently are not in your favor.)
During that last phone call, the customer service representative recommended that I call back today for an update. I've been praying for good news, but trying to prepare myself for bad. Of course, trying to prepare yourself for bad news never works. It just means you spent time worrying.
Still, I was OK. And then I did something really dumb, something I know I shouldn't do. I went back to the A-100 boards to see if there was information about class sizes and whether invitations for classes had been sent out. I also wanted to check the Shadow Register* to see how long it was and the scores of those who had received invitations.
A little voice told me not to do it. Did I listen? Nope.
The Shadow Register shows that the list of waiting hopefuls in the consular track is up to 180; it's even higher for other tracks. The class sizes are down, but could be inching up again. However, the lowest score of the last people called was 5.7. Up until about a month ago, a score of 5.7 put you in the 20s on the Register.** Now, people with a 5.7 are dropping "down" to the 30s. Even as recently as late 2009, a score of 5.4 was more than enough to net an invitation to the A-100. With a 5.7, you were a shoe-in. Around the beginning of 2010, that began to change. People with a 5.7 were beginning to have to sit, and wait. As time went by, the wait got longer. Now, at the head of 2011, a score of 5.4 just means you have the privilege of sitting on the Register. It also means that you have almost no chance of getting the job. And a 5.7 seems to mean that you have only a slightly better chance of getting the job.
Upsetting? You bet. I tell myself that with a 5.7 it's still just a waiting game. That if you hold on long enough, you will inch up the queue; they will get around to you. I tell myself that, but I'm not sure I believe it.
In their desperation, people are going through the process again and again, signing up to take the written test, pushing through to the essays to score that invitation to the OA again. They're pumping themselves up to go through that nerve-wracking marathon day of testing, hoping to increase their base score. At the same time, they're using their savings to sign up for intensive language courses -- Turkish, Chinese, Russian, what have you -- whatever could snare them an extra 0.4 points.
I'm seeing incredible scores on the Shadow Register: 5.8 and 6. This morning, one of the Shadow Registers (I forget which one), showed a score of 6.15. This person might have had language plus veterans' points. Now, of course, a score such as 6 or higher is rare, but the 5.7s, 5.8s and 5.9s are becoming less rare. There seem to be more and more of them and the rate at which even they are receiving invitations is slowing down.
The last time someone with a 5.4 got an invitation to an A-100 seems to have been last April, according to the Shadow Register.
I should forget about the 5.4s you say? After all, I'm going to pass my language test and get those bonus points, aren't I? I wish I could be that confident. I can speak "my" foreign language well enough to enjoy everyday conversation. But I have neither the vocabulary nor the confidence in my grammar to handle complex subjects such as current events. And they ask you about that stuff on the phone test.
I was very depressed this morning after visiting the board. I thought about my much anticipated phone call to DSS, the one I'm to make this afternoon. And an inner voice said, "It won't matter what the outcome is, will it? Because even with a 5.7, your chances of getting this job are just short of zero."
So, yes, I'm down today. Very down. And as I sit here, I can barely read what I'm typing. My sight is bleary with tears.
I'm so tired of struggling. If this door closes to me, I don't know what I'll do.
* The Shadow Register is an attempt by the folks on the A-100 to duplicate the official Register. The information on the Shadow Register is totally dependent on people voluntarily submitting their information. Many participants do not participate, however; others share their information initially but do not always update it. So, the Shadow Register varies in its accuracy. However, I've never seen anyone who got into the A-100 come back to the board and say the impression the Shadow Register conveyed was totally off track.
** Your rank reflects where you are in line for an A-100 invitation. So a rank of 1 means you're first in line; a rank of 20 means you're twentieth and so on.
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