Try this:
So you tell me...
Well maybe I should send in my resume.
You don't "fail" a SF86. The form itself has no "pass/fail" criteria. The document itself is information that you provide for background investigators to check out and validate.
The background investigation resulting from that information may result in prejudicial information and findings.
That information is then submitted to the requesting agency which ultimately decides whether a clearance is granted.
“So you tell me...”
I never before heard the SF86 referred to as a test, like you have to get so many correct answers to get a passing grade. It was never presented to me as a test. I don’t see how it can be viewed as a test except maybe as a test of one’s honesty and memory.
It’s been awhile, but I don’t recall that you pass or fail the SF86. You pass or fail the security check for which the SF86 provides information.
“Forgetting about a drug conviction (yes, I’ve seen that before)
Claiming to have graduated college when degree withheld due to unpaid debts to the school (yes, I’ve seen that before)
Claiming no financial problem but forgetting about having a house foreclosed and two cars repo’d (yes, I’ve seen that one before too)
Being married and giving a on-the-side girlfriend as a reference (yes, I’ve even seen that one once)”
Yeah but the rest of my SF86 was pristine!
On the other hand, I have seen SF86’s where they honestly and openly talked about previous drug use and “passed” the background check.
And if you are completely open and honest about the foreclosure, that will get a “go” also. It is when you “forget” the incident, or slightly change the facts, that it gets you in trouble.