Homeland Security officials confirm they’re reviewing what’s known as the K-1 fiance(e) visa program, used by U.S. citizens to bring over foreign brides and grooms.
In 2014, the United States granted 35,925 K-1 visas; one bride arriving on the K-1 that year was Tashfeen Malik, who with her husband shot and killed 14 people in San Bernardino last week. Malik, a native of Pakistan, entered the U.S. in July of that year.
On Thursday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services director Leon Rodriguez told the House Judiciary Committee that his agency is reviewing the program, along with all recently approved fiance(e) visas. From a transcript of Rodriguez's statement:
The president and secretary have both directed USCIS to review both the K-1 visa program as a whole, which we are in the process of doing right now, but also to do a retrospective look at cases approved in recent years under the K-1 visa program. We are fully along in conducting that effort.
A USCIS spokesman said retroactive case reviews will go back at least to December 2013.