Tina,

I have not seen any formal policy guidelines on this topic, but to the best of my knowledge and understanding:

1. If the previous failed polygraph was with the CIA, they will reject your application;

2. If the previous failed polygraph was with another federal agency, they may (or may not) reject your application;

3. Your having failed a previous polygraph, regardless of the agency that conducted it, will tend to bias the polygraph operator against you and increase the likelihood that (s)he will arbitrarily accuse you of lying and/or using polygraph countermeasures.

My advice is not to seek employment with any federal agency that has a pre-employment polygraph screening requirement. I previously limited this recommendation to the FBI, but similar considerations apply to all federal agencies.

Note the warning of retired CIA polygraph John F. Sullivan, who advises that "...an honest subject has no better chance than a dishonest subject of getting through the process."

See also the recent statement of a former CIA analyst, who concludes:

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