Nosrat Ravandi’s mistake was keeping in touch with her family. She needed the government to grant her a security clearance for her job. But an investigation showed she had relatives in Iran “with whom she maintained regular contact.” Plus, she kept a second passport in case she wanted to visit them. The decision: Security clearance denied. An Ohio researcher’s mistake was maintaining friendships. The American had studied and worked abroad and remained friendly with his former colleagues. Though his correspondence “may be relatively infrequent, the totality of Applicant’s contacts with various foreign citizens is not minor or trivial,” the decision read. Clearance denied. Full Story