Shooting Suspect Had Background Check, Was Conditional US Resident After Marriage

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — One of the shooters who killed 14 people at a California social service center was a conditional resident in the U.S. after marrying a citizen.

The FBI says Tashfeen Malik came to the U.S. in July 2014 on a Pakistani passport and a so-called fiancée visa. To get the visa, she had to submit to an in-person interview and biometric and background checks to ensure she wasn’t a threat to public safety or national security.

By law, Malik had 90 days to get married or leave the country. She became a conditional resident after marrying Syed Farook. Two years after the wedding, she could have applied to stay in the U.S. permanently.

Malik and Farook opened fire on a holiday banquet of Farook’s co-workers and then died in a shootout with police Wednesday.