What type of work visa did Melania Trump initially obtain to work in the US?

1. Arrival on a visitor visa, then an H‑1B for modeling

Reporting by The Associated Press, CNBC and other outlets reconstructs a timeline in which Melania Knauss entered the U.S. from Slovenia in August 1996 on a B‑1/B‑2 visitor visa and — per statements from her immigration lawyer — obtained an H‑1B work visa in October 1996 that authorized her to work as a fashion model ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Multiple law‑oriented commentaries and immigration firms have likewise described her early U.S. work authorization as H‑1B status for modeling work ^{[7] [5]}.

2. Documents and reporting about work before the H‑1B

The Associated Press obtained ledgers and contracts indicating Melania was paid for 10 U.S. modeling jobs between Sept. 10 and Oct. 15, 1996 — a window that some reporting says preceded issuance of her H‑1B — and those documents formed the basis of scrutiny about whether she worked while on a visitor visa ^{[8] [9]}. Coverage notes that visitor visas generally do not permit paid employment in the United States ^[8].

3. Conflicting first‑hand accounts and management claims

Melania’s former modeling agent said he secured a work visa for her before she modeled professionally in the U.S., which, if taken at face value, supports the claim she had H‑1B authorization in place early ^[10]. But AP reporting and documents suggest at least some paid assignments happened in a seven‑week span before a work visa was on file ^{[8] [9]}. Available sources do not present a single, uncontested contemporaneous immigration record released by Melania herself; instead they rely on agency records, ledgers, statements from representatives, and later recollections ^{[8] [10]}.

4. Later immigrant status: the EB‑1 “Einstein” green card

Separate from the temporary H‑1B timeline, reporting in 2018 examined Mrs. Trump’s later application for an EB‑1 immigrant visa (often called the “Einstein visa”), a category for individuals of “extraordinary ability.” Sources say she began that process around 2000 and was approved for an EB‑1 green card in 2001, after which she became a lawful permanent resident and later a U.S. citizen ^{[4] [6] [5]}.

5. How journalists and immigration lawyers frame the dispute

Mainstream outlets such as AP, BBC and The New York Times treat the H‑1B as the early work visa and the EB‑1 as the later green card route; they press for documentary timelines and note that models have sometimes used H‑1B classification ^{[1] [4] [6]}. Immigration lawyers who have commented say the H‑1B for a model is plausible and was used repeatedly for Mrs. Trump, while critics highlight the AP documents showing paid work prior to formal work authorization ^{[7] [5] [9]}.

6. What reporting does and does not establish

Reporting clearly establishes: (a) she entered on a B‑1/B‑2 visitor visa in August 1996, (b) she was later issued H‑1B visas beginning in October 1996, and (c) she later obtained an EB‑1 green card around 2001 ^{[1] [2] [4] [5]}. What remains contested in available reporting is whether some paid modeling assignments occurred during a period before H‑1B paperwork was formally in place; AP’s documents indicate payments in that window, while agents and representatives have disputed or contextualized those dates ^{[8] [10]}.

7. Broader context and why it mattered politically

The timing drew attention because Donald Trump’s political platform emphasized strict immigration enforcement and because the EB‑1 category attracted scrutiny in later years; journalists used the case to probe how specialized work visas and high‑level immigrant categories are applied ^{[8] [6]}. Commentary from immigration firms and analysts argued both that H‑1B use by a model was consistent with practice and that EB‑1 approvals raise legitimate public questions about standards ^{[5] [6]}.

8. Bottom line for the original question

Available reporting shows Melania Trump initially entered on a B‑1/B‑2 visitor visa and then, according to her representatives and multiple news outlets, obtained an H‑1B work visa in October 1996 to work as a model; she later secured an EB‑1 immigrant visa (green card) around 2001 ^{[1] [2] [4]}. Disputes in the record center on whether she was paid for some U.S. modeling work in the weeks before formal H‑1B authorization — a point documented by AP‑obtained records and contested by some agency recollections ^{[8] [10]}.

Limitations: this summary uses only the documents and reporting cited above; full contemporaneous immigration files were not released publicly in the cited sources, and the competing claims come from different parties quoted in those reports ^{[8] [10]}.