Lawmakers to seek details on vetting for those bound for US

Republicans and Democrats are pushing the Obama administration to immediately require background checks of social media for foreigners seeking USA visas – a move they say might have helped foil the San Bernardino attack. The history of Malik’s radicalization and her apparent online discussions about jihad have raised concerns about how she was able to pass a background check that the government has described as rigorous.

USA officials have also acknowledged that under visa vetting procedures at the time that Malik applied for her visa, no one routinely checked applicants’ social media postings for irregularities.

Buchanan said in a statement, “We should have been tracking their social media all along, but apparently our government was too concerned about political correctness and violating the privacy rights of foreigners”.

How Malik was secured her spousal visa, known as a K-1 visa, has come under close scrutiny.

Gretchen Andersen, Buchanan’s press secretary, told TheBlaze that the Florida lawmaker plans to speak with the committee’s chairman, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R- Va.), about how he will incorporate social media screening into the legislation.

Both DHS and the State Department also are reviewing the process for vetting visa applications, including the K-1 program, and have been directed by the White House to create specific recommendations for improvements.

“Under my leadership as secretary, we in fact began to consult social media in connection with conferring various immigration benefits and we will be doing more of this”, he added. “We’ll leave it to the experts to determine the best way to strengthen the security of our screening programs”.

In Malik’s case, though, since earlier background checks did not raise suspicions, no SAO investigation was requested before she was granted a visa to enter the United States as Farook’s fiancée, the US official said. She also had to provide fingerprints and a variety of background information.

Routine visa background inquiries usually include checking a visa applicant’s name against various spy agency and law enforcement databases, but would not normally involve extensive investigations in the applicant’s country of origin.

The day after the attack, Facebook found a post on a page maintained by Malik pledging her and Farook’s allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State group. “And had they checked Tashfeen Malik a little more, maybe she wouldn’t have gotten a visa”. The page was under an alias.