What is the timeline of Melania Trump's naturalization application and oath of citizenship?
Executive summary
Melania Trump’s publicly reported path to U.S. citizenship runs from her move to the United States in the 1990s, to lawful permanent residency in 2001, and to naturalization in 2006, with multiple secondary sources and biographical entries citing a July 2006 oath of allegiance; however, the precise USCIS filing dates and the official naturalization paperwork are not included in the provided reporting [1] [2] [3]. Her citizenship status has been referenced repeatedly in later public appearances and government materials, including her role as a speaker at a National Archives naturalization ceremony in December 2023 [4] [5].
1. Early arrival, work visa and green card
Reporting and biographical summaries say Melania (born Melania Knauss) moved to the United States to pursue modeling in the mid-1990s and later obtained lawful permanent resident status—commonly reported as receiving a green card in 2001—which set the immigration clock ticking toward eligibility for naturalization under standard residency rules [2] [1] [3].
2. Marriage and the timeline toward citizenship
Multiple outlets place Melania’s marriage to Donald Trump in 2005 and note that her naturalization occurred the following year, indicating an expedited-sounding sequence in public narratives—EconoTimes states she became a citizen in 2006 “one year after marrying Donald Trump in 2005,” which aligns with other timelines that place naturalization in mid-2006 [1] [6].
3. Reported naturalization date and taking the oath
Several of the collected sources explicitly state a July 2006 naturalization, with at least one entry giving July 28, 2006 as the date she took the oath of allegiance and thereby became a U.S. citizen; this date is reproduced across summary timelines and encyclopedia-style pages cited here [2] [6] [3]. The sources presented do not include primary USCIS or court naturalization certificates in this file set, so the July 28 date rests on secondary reporting aggregated in those biographies [2] [3].
4. Later public references and ceremonial appearances
Melania has publicly referenced the emotional significance of taking the Oath of Allegiance and described the pathway to citizenship as “arduous” during a public address at a National Archives naturalization ceremony on December 15, 2023, where she was invited to speak as a naturalized citizen and former first lady; the National Archives press release and coverage of the speech document her role in that event [4] [5]. Official archival materials and press coverage thus reaffirm her status as a naturalized citizen in government and media records [4].
5. Remaining gaps, contested claims and the public context
What the provided sources do not offer are primary immigration records (USCIS filing dates, naturalization certificate images, or sworn statements about specific application timing), nor do they resolve persistent public curiosity and rumor about the exact mechanisms of her residency-to-citizenship transition; some timelines and local biography sites repeat the same July 2006 date and add claims—such as an EB-1 extraordinary‑ability basis for her green card—that appear in secondary compilations and should be treated as assertions unless corroborated by primary government records [2] [6]. Context matters: much of the reporting and public interest has been filtered through political and media attention tied to her role as first lady and her husband’s immigration positions, which has amplified scrutiny and rumor even where the basic timeline in the available sources is consistent [1] [3].