What year did Melania Trump become a permanent US resident before receiving citizenship?

1. Summary of the results

Reporting across the provided analyses indicates that Melania Trump became a permanent U.S. resident in 2001 and later naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2006. Several items note her first arrival to the United States in 1996 as a model and then obtaining legal permanent-resident status via an EB-1 category visa in 2001 ^{[1] [2]}. One source explicitly states her 2006 naturalization year while others do not address the exact permanent-resident year ^{[3] [4]}. A subset of pieces included in the analysis do not provide any residency timeline, underlining uneven documentation in the set ^{[5] [6] [7]}.

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The analyses omit granular documentary evidence and official immigration records that would definitively confirm the procedural dates; public reporting relies on interviews, secondary reporting, and congressional testimony rather than primary USCIS files ^[5]. Alternative perspectives emphasize the complexity of her immigration trajectory: arrival on a B1/B2 tourist visa in 1996, an H-1B work authorization later in 1996, and then a green card obtained in 2001 under an EB-1 category — each step attracts different legal standards and timelines ^{[2] [1]}. Critics point to alleged timing and classification issues surrounding her earlier visas and assignments, while defenders underscore that the EB-1 green card is a recognized path to permanent residency ^{[2] [1]}.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

Framing the question solely as “what year did she become a permanent U.S. resident before receiving citizenship?” can both simplify and politicize a multi-step immigration process; that framing benefits actors who want a clear, single-date narrative for either criticism or defense. Some sources in the set avoid stating the permanent-resident year, which can produce ambiguity that critics exploit to suggest impropriety, while proponents highlight the 2001 EB-1 green card and 2006 naturalization to demonstrate procedural compliance ^{[1] [3]}. Given that several pieces in the analysis set do not supply direct evidence for the permanent-resident claim ^{[5] [4] [6]}, readers should treat single-date assertions cautiously and prefer primary records or contemporaneous official statements where possible ^{[1] [2]}.