I am curious if there's some kind of big membership hold up going on?
A friend of mine applied for SM status and sent his paperwork in about a month ago today. Still no word on anything from nationals.
Last year when I became an SM, it took about 2-weeks. (I dont know if that has anything to do with having been a cadet 2001-2003).
Also, I have a photo ID, but it expires 31Oct2010, I applied for a new one, and the money has been taken, but it has also been about a month without seeing it.
Is this a problem with anyone else? Also, is there any contact to go thru at NHQ or do I take both these problems to the Unit Commander?
Thanks for any help!
There have been sporadic comments here and elsewhere that background checks seem to be taking longer than normal.
We did just cross a fiscal year as well, and it is election season - probably stacking up to slow down the channel.
You can always call NHQ and ask the status.
I joined in the middle of the summer and everything was okay. My official join date was mid-August and I received my plastic membership card a month later. I also just completed Level 1 and it was updated on my eServices profile page a week to 10 days later.
Did your friend have a prior FBI background check? I was told that if you already had a background check that your application would go through faster. I had one in 1997 when I applied to my job at a retirement home.
Quote from: BradM on October 21, 2010, 08:57:53 PM
Did your friend have a prior FBI background check? I was told that if you already had a background check that your application would go through faster. I had one in 1997 when I applied to my job at a retirement home.
He's law enforcement, so I imagine so. (We had to do them when I was an LEO, but unsure about his agency)
1. Call National and ask if they received the forms
2. Ask the member if his check has cleared.
If 1 and the forms haven't been received resend them with a new check and Fingerprint card
If they check cleared, he's a member somewhere, because the check isn't processed until the membership is entered into the system.
Agreed with above; call NHQ (877-227-9142) and redirect through the menu appropriately, and talk to the lovely membership people. Mine took like two days once it arrived properly, and I JUST had it done this week. The more the people in that department are aware that there's a problem, the more I'd imagine they can do. As for the ID...I don't know, because I haven't applied for mine yet. Sorry I can't be of more help :-\
Quote from: BradM on October 21, 2010, 08:57:53 PM
Did your friend have a prior FBI background check? I was told that if you already had a background check that your application would go through faster. I had one in 1997 when I applied to my job at a retirement home.
They'll do a new one, even if you just had one completed a month ago.
Your new photo id won't come until you re-up for the new year.... at least that's what happened to me last year when I ordered one about a month before I had to renew... once I renewed, I got it with the new expiration date
Actually, I did renew in Sept and ordered the card as soon as I got my 2nd Lt shortly thereafter. Still waiting...
Compared to my application to the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, the CAP process was relatively quick. My USCGA app and background check took nearly three months; my CAP app and background check took a month. Both use essentially the same fingerprint card. On the other hand, during my USCGA application, they were busy with some oil spill in the Gulf.
In my experience with getting folks screened through National, it often has nothing to do with the employees at NHQ. As I understand the process, the fingerprint card goes to the FBI for verification. I know that the application for our CD program goes to a central processing facility, where it is reviewed by the three major customers of the CD program. Our screening is not priority number one in any of these cases: we get handled as the federal agencies have the time to do them.
In my six or seven years of being in the middle of the CD program, I have seen screenings take from one day to over a year, mostly because the screening agency had higher priorities.
I suspect that the same sort of time warps apply to the FBI fingerprint card processing. Just the facts, folks, not my opinion.