Through which immigration pathway did Melania Trump obtain U.S. citizenship?
Executive summary
Melania Trump became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2006 after first entering the United States as a model on an employment-based pathway: she arrived on a worker visa and later obtained a green card by self-petitioning as a person of “extraordinary ability” (an EB‑1 category), according to contemporary reporting and statements from her attorney (AP, BBC, AP follow-up) [1] [2] [3].
1. How she first came to the U.S.: a worker visa while modeling
Melania Trump’s own public remarks and reporting say her U.S. immigration story began when she came to New York City to work as a model on a worker visa; she has repeatedly described that initial step as the start of her path toward citizenship [1] [4].
2. The green card claim: “extraordinary ability” / EB‑1 self‑petition
Contemporaneous news reporting and a letter from her immigration attorney assert that Melania did not receive her green card through marriage but rather applied in 2000 by self‑sponsoring as a model of “extraordinary ability” — the EB‑1 classification reserved for people with sustained national or international acclaim — and received a green card on March 19, 2001 [3] [2].
3. Naturalization in 2006 and consequences that followed
After obtaining lawful permanent resident status, Melania became eligible for and completed naturalization in 2006, taking the Oath of Allegiance; later reporting notes she used citizenship to sponsor family members [5] [2].
4. What the sources dispute or do not cover
Major outlets cited here agree on the broad pathway (worker visa → EB‑1 green card → naturalization in 2006) [1] [2] [3] but differ in emphasis and detail. The BBC and Washington Post reporting (summarized in BBC) framed the EB‑1 claim as the central fact [2]. AP’s reporting and the attorney’s letter emphasize that she “did not receive her green card through marriage” and that documents reviewed by the attorney support the extraordinary‑ability self‑petition assertion [3] [1]. Available sources do not mention internal USCIS adjudication files in full or release the specific documentary evidence cited in the attorney’s letter, so granular documentary proof beyond the attorney’s statement and contemporary reporting is not in the provided material [3].
5. Criticism, context and competing viewpoints
Critics have highlighted apparent contradictions and raised questions about timing and how modeling work before a visa would affect eligibility; some commentators and later articles have scrutinized the ease or rarity of EB‑1 approvals for models [6] [7]. Reporting notes public skepticism about whether her case received special treatment and notes social‑media criticism given her husband’s political positions on immigration [6]. Meanwhile, her lawyer’s public letter and multiple news outlets cite the EB‑1 self‑petition as the legal basis for her green card and subsequent naturalization [3] [2].
6. Legal mechanics in brief — what the sources explain
The sources describe a straight sequence: initial work visa to enter the U.S. as a model, a self‑petition under an “extraordinary ability” employment‑based category that yielded a green card in 2001, and naturalization in 2006 after meeting residency requirements [1] [3] [2]. Coverage notes that the EB‑1 category is for those with “sustained national and international acclaim,” and that receiving that visa is relatively uncommon for nationals of Slovenia at the time [2].
7. What is not settled by the provided reporting
The precise evidentiary materials USCIS considered, the full contents of her immigration file beyond the attorney’s review, and any internal deliberations by adjudicating officers are not present in these sources; those documents were not released in the reporting cited here [3]. Allegations that her case involved fraud or special favors are raised in public debate but not substantiated in the provided reporting; the attorney’s letter rebuts marriage‑based claims and cites a lawful EB‑1 self‑petition [3] [7].
8. Bottom line for readers
Available reporting and an attorney’s public letter consistently state Melania Trump’s path to U.S. citizenship ran from arrival on a worker visa, to a self‑sponsored EB‑1 green card in 2001, to naturalization in 2006 — and her team has insisted the green card was not marriage‑based [1] [3] [2]. Debates and skepticism about the case’s particulars exist in the public record, but the underlying sequence above is what the cited sources report [2] [6].