Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik were killed last week in a gun battle with police after they committed a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. Malik entered the U.S. on a K‑1 visa, known as the fiancé visa, accompanied by Farook. Their attack is the first perpetrated by somebody on the K‑1 visa — igniting a debate over increasing visa security.
The government issued approximately 262,162 K‑1 visas from 2005 to 2013 – 3177 or 1.21 percent of the total to Pakistani citizens.
Senator Rand Paul’s (R‑KY) SECURE Act identifies 34 countries as particularly terror-prone. There were 32,363 K‑1 visa, 12.34 percent of the total, issued to citizens from those countries from 2005 to 2013.
The top ten countries for sending fiancés are the Philippines (17.34%), China (6.45%), Vietnam (5.56%), Mexico (4.99%), Colombia (3.77%), Russia (3.14%), Dominican Republic (3.12%), United Kingdom (3.12%), Thailand (2.72%), and Canada (2.67%). Those top ten countries are responsible for 52.77 percent of all K‑1 visas issued from 2005 to 2013. Russia is the only country in the top ten that Senator Paul considers a risk. Pakistan is number 23.
K‑1 Visa Entrants, Country of Citizenship
|
|
2005–2013 |
|
|
Total |
262,162 |
99.90% |
|
Afghanistan |
1,482 |
0.57% |
|
Albania |
468 |
0.18% |
|
Algeria |
309 |
0.12% |
|
Andorra |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Angola |
14 |
0.01% |
|
Antigua and Barbuda |
22 |
0.01% |
|
Argentina |
886 |
0.34% |
|
Armenia |
789 |
0.30% |
|
Australia |
1,993 |
0.76% |
|
Austria |
152 |
0.06% |
|
Azerbaijan |
152 |
0.06% |
|
Bahamas |
75 |
0.03% |
|
Bahrain |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Bangladesh |
143 |
0.05% |
|
Barbados |
42 |
0.02% |
|
Belarus |
865 |
0.33% |
|
Belgium |
242 |
0.09% |
|
Belize |
89 |
0.03% |
|
Benin |
36 |
0.01% |
|
Bhutan |
4 |
0.00% |
|
Bolivia |
367 |
0.14% |
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
442 |
0.17% |
|
Botswana |
12 |
0.00% |
|
Brazil |
4,590 |
1.75% |
|
Brunei |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Bulgaria |
587 |
0.22% |
|
Burkina Faso |
49 |
0.02% |
|
Burma |
484 |
0.18% |
|
Burundi |
9 |
0.00% |
|
Cambodia |
5,744 |
2.19% |
|
Cameroon |
482 |
0.18% |
|
Canada |
7,004 |
2.67% |
|
Cape Verde |
306 |
0.12% |
|
Central African Republic |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Chad |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Chile |
611 |
0.23% |
|
China |
16,916 |
6.45% |
|
Colombia |
9,880 |
3.77% |
|
Comoros |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Congo (Brazzaville) |
82 |
0.03% |
|
Congo (Kinshasa) |
34 |
0.01% |
|
Costa Rica |
691 |
0.26% |
|
Cote d’Ivoire |
105 |
0.04% |
|
Croatia |
182 |
0.07% |
|
Cuba |
3,324 |
1.27% |
|
Cyprus |
3 |
0.00% |
|
Czech Republic |
232 |
0.09% |
|
Denmark |
225 |
0.09% |
|
Djibouti |
12 |
0.00% |
|
Dominica |
113 |
0.04% |
|
Dominican Republic |
8,171 |
3.12% |
|
East Timor |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Ecuador |
1,383 |
0.53% |
|
Egypt |
1,337 |
0.51% |
|
El Salvador |
1,128 |
0.43% |
|
Equatorial Guinea |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Eritrea |
300 |
0.11% |
|
Estonia |
80 |
0.03% |
|
Ethiopia |
2,791 |
1.06% |
|
Fiji |
94 |
0.04% |
|
Finland |
213 |
0.08% |
|
France |
1,267 |
0.48% |
|
Gabon |
5 |
0.00% |
|
Gambia |
165 |
0.06% |
|
Georgia |
166 |
0.06% |
|
Germany |
2,619 |
1.00% |
|
Ghana |
2,150 |
0.82% |
|
Greece |
156 |
0.06% |
|
Grenada |
49 |
0.02% |
|
Guatemala |
785 |
0.30% |
|
Guinea |
184 |
0.07% |
|
Guinea-Bissau |
4 |
0.00% |
|
Guyana |
667 |
0.25% |
|
Haiti |
4,502 |
1.72% |
|
Holy See |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Honduras |
891 |
0.34% |
|
Hungary |
276 |
0.11% |
|
Iceland |
45 |
0.02% |
|
India |
6,690 |
2.55% |
|
Indonesia |
1,246 |
0.48% |
|
Iran |
3,280 |
1.25% |
|
Iraq |
1,143 |
0.44% |
|
Ireland |
730 |
0.28% |
|
Israel |
451 |
0.17% |
|
Italy |
738 |
0.28% |
|
Jamaica |
2,811 |
1.07% |
|
Japan |
3,630 |
1.38% |
|
Jordan |
673 |
0.26% |
|
Kazakhstan |
405 |
0.15% |
|
Kenya |
652 |
0.25% |
|
Kiribati |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Korea, North |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Korea, South |
2,706 |
1.03% |
|
Kuwait |
16 |
0.01% |
|
Kyrgyzstan |
252 |
0.10% |
|
Laos |
3,204 |
1.22% |
|
Latvia |
177 |
0.07% |
|
Lebanon |
1,288 |
0.49% |
|
Lesotho |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Liberia |
355 |
0.14% |
|
Libya |
122 |
0.05% |
|
Liechtenstein |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Lithuania |
224 |
0.09% |
|
Luxembourg |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Macedonia |
275 |
0.10% |
|
Madagascar |
35 |
0.01% |
|
Malawi |
12 |
0.00% |
|
Malaysia |
447 |
0.17% |
|
Maldives |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Mali |
81 |
0.03% |
|
Malta |
8 |
0.00% |
|
Marshall Islands |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Mauritania |
5 |
0.00% |
|
Mauritius |
15 |
0.01% |
|
Mexico |
13,077 |
4.99% |
|
Micronesia, Federated States of |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Moldova |
473 |
0.18% |
|
Monaco |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Mongolia |
107 |
0.04% |
|
Morocco |
1,798 |
0.69% |
|
Mozambique |
20 |
0.01% |
|
Namibia |
8 |
0.00% |
|
Nauru |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Nepal |
409 |
0.16% |
|
Netherlands |
754 |
0.29% |
|
New Zealand |
506 |
0.19% |
|
Nicaragua |
806 |
0.31% |
|
Niger |
64 |
0.02% |
|
Nigeria |
4,900 |
1.87% |
|
Norway |
234 |
0.09% |
|
Oman |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Pakistan |
3,177 |
1.21% |
|
Palau |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Panama |
430 |
0.16% |
|
Papua New Guinea |
3 |
0.00% |
|
Paraguay |
147 |
0.06% |
|
Peru |
4,017 |
1.53% |
|
Philippines |
45,468 |
17.34% |
|
Poland |
1,368 |
0.52% |
|
Portugal |
176 |
0.07% |
|
Qatar |
3 |
0.00% |
|
Romania |
1,880 |
0.72% |
|
Russia |
8,231 |
3.14% |
|
Rwanda |
63 |
0.02% |
|
Saint Kitts and Nevis |
12 |
0.00% |
|
Saint Lucia |
50 |
0.02% |
|
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
42 |
0.02% |
|
Samoa |
9 |
0.00% |
|
San Marino |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Sao Tome and Principe |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Saudi Arabia |
110 |
0.04% |
|
Senegal |
278 |
0.11% |
|
Serbia and Montenegro |
56 |
0.02% |
|
Seychelles |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Sierra Leone |
567 |
0.22% |
|
Singapore |
263 |
0.10% |
|
Slovakia |
196 |
0.07% |
|
Slovenia |
27 |
0.01% |
|
Solomon Islands |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Somalia |
162 |
0.06% |
|
South Africa |
677 |
0.26% |
|
Spain |
616 |
0.23% |
|
Sri Lanka |
171 |
0.07% |
|
Sudan |
146 |
0.06% |
|
Suriname |
11 |
0.00% |
|
Swaziland |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Sweden |
539 |
0.21% |
|
Switzerland |
223 |
0.09% |
|
Syria |
1,237 |
0.47% |
|
Taiwan |
907 |
0.35% |
|
Tajikistan |
39 |
0.01% |
|
Tanzania |
143 |
0.05% |
|
Thailand |
7,142 |
2.72% |
|
Togo |
152 |
0.06% |
|
Tonga |
64 |
0.02% |
|
Trinidad and Tobago |
383 |
0.15% |
|
Tunisia |
142 |
0.05% |
|
Turkey |
843 |
0.32% |
|
Turkmenistan |
31 |
0.01% |
|
Tuvalu |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Uganda |
292 |
0.11% |
|
Ukraine |
6,940 |
2.65% |
|
United Arab Emirates |
15 |
0.01% |
|
United Kingdom |
7,898 |
3.01% |
|
Uruguay |
128 |
0.05% |
|
Uzbekistan |
502 |
0.19% |
|
Vanuatu |
0 |
0.00% |
|
Venezuela |
998 |
0.38% |
|
Vietnam |
14,565 |
5.56% |
|
Yemen |
76 |
0.03% |
|
Zambia |
57 |
0.02% |
|
Zimbabwe |
66 |
0.03% |
|
Unknown/Other |
5,661 |
2.16% |
Source: Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, Supplemental Table 1
