UPDATED: Goodlatte Statement on Tashfeen Malik’s Immigration File
December 19, 2015
***Update: Following up on Chairman Goodlatte’s statement from Saturday (12/19/15) regarding Tashfeen Malik’s immigration file, please find a copy of Malik’s K-1 Visa application here.**Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) issued the following statement after reviewing Tashfeen Malik’s immigration file:
Chairman Goodlatte: “After reviewing Tashfeen Malik’s immigration file, it is clear that immigration officials did not thoroughly vet her application. In order 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. 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.
“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. 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.”
Below are key findings from Malik’s immigration file.
- One of the many requirements to obtain a K-1 fiancée visa is to show proof that the U.S. citizen petitioner and foreign national have met in person. However, the immigration file contains only two pieces of information on this subject: (i) a statement by Syed Farook that he and Malik had been together in Saudi Arabia, and (ii) copies of pages from their passports, containing visas to enter Saudi Arabia and stamps in Arabic.
- The immigration official reviewing Malik’s visa application requested that the passport stamps be translated into English to confirm that they were in Saudi Arabia at the same time, but Malik’s immigration file does not contain an English translation of the passport stamps.
- At the request of House Judiciary Committee staff, a contractor with the Congressional Research Service (CRS) translated the passport stamps. Malik’s passport shows a Saudi Arabian entry stamp dated approximately June 4, 2013. Her exit stamp is partially illegible and the translator could not make out the month or day of her departure in 2013. Farook’s passport shows a Saudi Arabian entry stamp of October 1, 2013. The exit stamp was determined to be approximately October 20, 2013.
- However, even if Farook and Malik were in Saudi Arabia at the same time, this does not provide evidence that they met in person. Additionally, Malik’s Saudi Arabian visa was good for only 60 days, so this would cast doubt on the claim that the two were in Saudi Arabia at the same time. And even if Farook and Malik met in Saudi Arabia, there is insufficient evidence in the file for USCIS to have made that determination.
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