Tashfeen Malik, one of the shooters in the San Bernardino massacre that killed 14 people, had her visa "sloppily approved" by U.S. officials, the House Judiciary Committee chairman said Saturday.
Malik had a K-1 fiancee visa, but upon further investigation by committee chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), immigration officials did not carefully examine the information and documents she provided.
The federal law demands a meeting at least once between an American citizen and a foreigner wanting to marry. Her documents did not fully identify whether she personally met fiancé Sayed Farook, which is an essential requirement for foreign citizens in getting a K-1 fiancee visa, according to The Washington Post.
"It is clear that immigration officials did not thoroughly vet her application," Goodlatte said, according to Fox News. "To obtain a fiancée visa, it is required to demonstrate proof that the U.S. citizen and foreign national have met in person. However, Malik's immigration file does not show sufficient evidence for this requirement."
Visa for #SanBernardino shooter Tashfeen Malik, was "sloppily approved," rep says https://t.co/ZyBZG3VTDW (AP photo) pic.twitter.com/8kmMO7CQd6
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) December 19, 2015
The immigration official who handled Malik's application asked for more evidence, but the visa was still approved without the additional documents.
"Visa security is critical to national security, and it's unacceptable that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services did not fully vet Malik's application and instead sloppily approved her visa," Goodlatte said, according to a statement from the Judiciary Committee.
"Since the Obama Administration refuses to take the steps necessary to fully vet visa applicants, the House Judiciary Committee is working on a bill to strengthen visa processing security and protect national security. We plan to introduce this bill soon so that we can better protect Americans and our country," he added.
Despite previous reports that the couple publicly announced their commitment to jihad on social media sites, authorities only found private exchanges between the couple proclaiming their views, FBI Director James Comey said, USA Today reported. The Department of Homeland Security and the State Department will further evaluate the visa process for fiancees. The federal officials also said that they will include the investigation of social media accounts of visa applicants.
