Did Melania Trump ever hold a green card or work visa before marriage to Donald Trump?

1. Early arrival and initial status: tourist to model in New York

Accounts agree that Melania (then Melania Knauss/Knavs) first came to the U.S. in the 1990s and worked as a model in New York after being sponsored by industry contacts; some retellings say she arrived on a tourist visa and was later sponsored by a modeling agent to remain in the U.S. ^{[6] [1]}. Public timelines and contemporary profiles place her arrival around 1996 and show modeling work in Manhattan in the years that followed ^{[1] [6]}.

2. Work visas and the contested record of paid modeling before authorization

Her camp and some legal summaries say she transitioned from visitor status to a string of lawful work visas for skilled professionals while modeling in New York ^[1]. Yet investigative reporting by the Associated Press and PBS found documents and witnesses indicating she accepted paid modeling assignments in the U.S. prior to securing work authorization, a point the AP said underpinned stories that she was paid for substantial jobs before having proper permission to work ^{[4] [5]}. Those reports note this could be consequential in theory but do not show the government revoked any later immigration benefits ^{[4] [5]}.

3. The EB‑1 “Einstein” green card: what mainstream outlets reported

Multiple outlets reported that Melania applied for and was approved for an EB‑1 employment‑based immigrant visa — the so‑called “Einstein” visa reserved for people of extraordinary ability — in 2001, making her a lawful permanent resident before her 2005 marriage to Donald Trump ^{[1] [7]}. BBC coverage and reporting that cited contemporaneous filings and press accounts place an EB‑1 approval in 2001 and link her later naturalization to meeting residency requirements after obtaining permanent residency ^{[1] [7]}.

4. Conflicting statements from representatives and lingering ambiguities

Melania’s attorneys and spokespeople have asserted she “followed the law” and was “always in lawful immigration status,” but public records and media interviews produced inconsistencies: an attorney once suggested she got a green card “based on marriage” in 2001, then later revised that statement to say she self‑sponsored under EB‑1 in 2000–2001 ^[8]. Newsweek and other outlets highlighted that discrepancy and noted immigration experts questioned whether her modeling résumé easily met EB‑1’s high standards ^[8].

5. Citizenship timeline and aftermath

After obtaining lawful permanent residency — reported as occurring in the early 2000s via EB‑1 — Melania naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2006, roughly one year after marrying Donald Trump; that sequence is documented in multiple timelines and legal commentaries which also note she later sponsored family members as a citizen ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Congressional scrutiny and hearings in later years rekindled debate about whether an EB‑1 was an appropriate classification, with lawmakers and commentators on both sides arguing over fairness and precedent ^[9].

6. Bottom line, with caveats about the public record

The balance of mainstream reporting indicates Melania held U.S. work visas and obtained an employment‑based green card (EB‑1) well before her 2005 marriage to Donald Trump, and that she naturalized in 2006 — but investigative reporting also surfaced evidence she did paid work in the U.S. before formal authorization, and public statements from her representatives have been inconsistent on some dates and bases of status ^{[1] [4] [8]}. The sources reviewed do not present a single, uncontested sequence of every visa filing and employment contract, so the record contains both firm points of agreement and unresolved discrepancies that have driven continuing scrutiny ^{[4] [8] [9]}.