Did Melania Trump ever hold a green card before citizenship, and when was it issued?

1. How the green card is reported to have been obtained — the “Einstein visa” narrative

Contemporary reporting and later summaries say Melania Trump (then Melania Knauss) applied for and received an EB‑1 employment‑based green card—commonly called an “Einstein visa,” reserved for individuals of “extraordinary ability”—with the application begun around 2000 and approved in 2001 ^{[1] [2] [3]}. The Washington Post coverage prompted follow‑on stories in outlets such as The Hill and the BBC that repeat that timeline and classification ^{[1] [2]}.

2. What the EB‑1 category means and why some found it notable

The EB‑1 category is intended for those with sustained national or international acclaim—examples given in reporting include Nobel laureates, top researchers, or elite performers—and that is why outlets characterized the green card as controversial or “unusual” for a model with modest magazine and runway credits ^{[2] [3]}. Commentators and immigration lawyers quoted in press coverage debated whether Melania’s modeling career met the high standards; some immigration‑law analysts argued models have successfully qualified under EB‑1 criteria in other cases ^{[5] [6]}.

3. Her visa history before the green card — available reporting

Reporting states Melania came to the U.S. in the mid‑1990s, initially on tourist and then various work visas, and that she received multiple H‑1B work visas between 1996 and 2001 before transitioning to permanent residency ^{[2] [7]}. Her campaign and attorneys have maintained she traveled back periodically to Slovenia to keep her status and that she “followed the law” in applying for a green card ^{[4] [2]}.

4. Dates and sequence emphasized in coverage

The most‑cited timeline across the provided reporting is: arrival in the U.S. in the mid‑1990s, application for EB‑1 beginning around 2000, and approval/receipt of the green card in 2001; she later naturalized (years of naturalization vary across summaries in these sources but the green card date of 2001 is the consistently reported milestone) ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}.

5. Areas of dispute, unanswered questions, and limitations in reporting

While multiple outlets report the EB‑1 approval in 2001, the available sources do not provide primary government documents or the exact issuance date printed on her green card; those records have not been released in the cited reporting (available sources do not mention the specific green card issuance stamp/date). Questions about whether her modeling resume met EB‑1 standards produced differing viewpoints in press and legal commentary—some argue models have qualified in the past, others say the category is intended for rarer acclaim ^{[5] [6] [3]}.

6. Broader context and why this mattered politically

The story gained traction because the EB‑1 route is perceived as elite and because later immigration policy debates—especially criticism of “chain migration” by President Trump—made Melania’s use of an employment‑based green card and any subsequent sponsorship of family members a politically salient contrast; reporting noted that her parents later had green cards by 2007 and commentators speculated about sponsorship paths ^{[1] [5] [3]}.

7. Bottom line for your question

Available reporting clearly states Melania Trump received a U.S. green card via the EB‑1 “extraordinary ability” category and that the approval occurred in 2001; however, the precise USCIS issuance stamp/date is not shown in the cited articles and the question of whether her record met the category’s strictest interpretations remains contested in the press and among immigration lawyers ^{[1] [2] [3] [5]}.