SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., Dec. 23 (UPI) — The visa application submitted by San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook showed he met his future wife Tashfeen Malik online and had a continuing relationship via email before he took her back to the United States.
The 21-page application and supporting documents give a glimpse into the burgeoning relationship between the couple in Farook’s own words. The House Judiciary Committee released the documents Tuesday.
On Dec. 2, police say the couple shot and killed 14 of Farook’s coworkers at a county health department holiday party. The couple later died in a shootout with police.
Farook, who was born in the United States, and Malik, a Pakistan native who lived in Saudi Arabia, met through a matrimonial website before meeting in person in October 2013 and deciding to marry.
“My fiancee and I intend to marry within the first month of her arriving in the U.S.,” Farook wrote in an “Intention to Marry” statement dated Jan. 20, 2014.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said immigration officials did not properly vet Malik’s visa application, evidenced by the lack of sufficient proof the couple met in person, a rule required to obtain a fiancee visa.
“What is worse, the immigration official reviewing Malik’s application requested more evidence to ensure the two met in person but it was never provided and her visa was approved anyway,” he said in a written statement.
Goodlatte said work done on the visa was sloppy, including failing to check the application carefully.
“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. “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.”
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