When did Melania Trump become a U.S. citizen and what records document that process?

1. The date: 2006 and the frequently cited July 28 milestone

Biographical summaries and news roundups consistently state that Melania Trump became a U.S. citizen in 2006, with Wikipedia explicitly giving July 28, 2006 as the date of naturalization ^[1], and multiple immigration-focused outlets echoing that year as the point when her naturalization was completed ^{[4] [5]}. Contemporary mainstream reporting reviewed here treats 2006 as settled fact and uses that year when describing her later civic roles and participation in naturalization ceremonies ^[3].

2. The documented steps public reporting describes — visas, green card, naturalization

Available reporting sketches a standard sequential path in public narratives: arrival on a visitor or worker visa in the late 1990s, lawful permanent resident status (a green card) in the early 2000s, and naturalization in 2006; several sources assert she obtained a green card around 2001 and that she initially arrived on a visitor/worker visa around 1996 ^{[5] [4]}. Institutional references, such as the National Archives’ announcement of a ceremony at which Melania — introduced explicitly as a naturalized citizen — was invited to speak, reinforce that she is publicly recognized as having completed naturalization ^[2].

3. What official records would document the process, and what the sources actually provide

The legal record of naturalization is a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) naturalization file and the associated Certificate of Naturalization; permanent residency would be evidenced by an I-551 “green card” and USCIS/INS application files. The materials reviewed for this analysis do not reproduce an official Certificate of Naturalization or a full USCIS file; instead, they rely on secondary biographical accounts and public statements that identify her as naturalized in 2006 ^{[1] [4] [5]}. The National Archives’ invitation to Melania as a naturalized citizen and AP coverage of her remarks at a 2023 naturalization ceremony are institutional corroboration that she is publicly recognized as a naturalized U.S. citizen, but they do not substitute for the underlying USCIS certificate or alien file (A-file) documents ^{[2] [3]}.

4. Unresolved details, scrutiny, and competing narratives

Public reporting also captures the existence of questions and competitive narratives: some outlets raise curiosity about the precise visa category and timing of her green card ^{[4] [5]}, while others note there has been no publicly produced evidence of fraud and that her naturalization is treated as a matter of record ^[4]. Where reporting cites legal or political opinion, it sometimes frames scrutiny as part of broader debates over immigration policy or political theater; the sources reviewed do not present definitive, primary-source immigration files that would either confirm or overturn the standard chronology reported by biographical and news outlets ^{[4] [5]}.

5. Sponsorship of relatives and dual citizenship context

Multiple summaries add that after naturalizing she sponsored her parents for immigration benefits and that her family has retained Slovenian ties — reporting that her parents later became U.S. citizens and that she and her son hold dual U.S.-Slovenian citizenship — but those claims in the sources are presented as biographical reporting rather than citations of the underlying naturalization or consular records ^{[1] [6]}. The coverage reviewed here therefore establishes the outcome — naturalized citizenship in 2006 — while leaving the underlying USCIS documentary record outside the scope of the material provided.