Melania Trump wasn’t born in the United States, she became its citizen in the 2000s when she dated with Donald Trump. This week, many questions arose regarding the way the first lady won so-called ‘Einstein visa’ to enter the US.
Melania Knauss was granted a green card in the elite EB-1 programme in 2001 since then she is a citizen of the United States. But there are still many questions how she won the visa, which was designed for renowned academic researchers, multinational business executives or those in other fields, such as Olympic athletes and Oscar-winning actors. So-called ‘Einstein visa’ normally goes to the foreigners who demonstrated “sustained national and international acclaim.”
Melania was a model but she demonstrated no extraordinary abilities listed for the ‘Einstein visa’ applicant. So how she won this permission?
Melania Trump: skills and abilities
In the 2000s, Melania then-Knauss’ credentials included runway shows in Europe, a Camel cigarette billboard ad in Times Square and – in her biggest job at the time – a spot in the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated, which featured her on the beach in a string bikini, hugging a six-foot inflatable whale.
In 2001, Melania got her legal residency, only five people from Slovenia received green cards under the EB-1 programme, according to the State Department. Normally, a fraction of one percent of applicants was issued to immigrants with “extraordinary ability”, so, Ms Knauss was a real lucky. The biggest question is: how did the model convince immigration authorities that she qualified for the EB-1 programme?
Meanwhile, President Trump has proposed ending the sponsorship of relatives such as parents, slamming as “chain migration” the decades-long ability of U.S. citizens to assist relatives in obtaining legal residency. According to him, Melania’s parents will never get the opportunity to use their daughter’s sponsorship for their green cards.
