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When did Melania Trump receive a work permit (EAD) and employment authorization as Melania Knauss?
Executive Summary
Melania Trump (born Melania Knauss) entered the United States in August 1996 on a B-1/B-2 visitor visa and is documented as receiving an H‑1B work visa in October 1996; she later obtained lawful permanent resident status around March 2001 and naturalized in 2006. Contemporary reporting and public records cited in major outlets agree on the October 1996 H‑1B approval and the 2001 green card timeline, while disagreeing or lacking clarity about any separate Employment Authorization Document (EAD) issued under the name Melania Knauss. Sources vary on whether she worked without authorization for a brief period before the H‑1B took effect and on the precise administrative dates of any EAD paperwork [1] [2] [3].
1. What sources claim and what the original statement asked — pulling the key claims apart
Multiple reporting strands in 2016–2018 claimed that Melania Knauss arrived in the U.S. on a tourist visa in August 1996 and later received authorization to work via an H‑1B petition dated October 18, 1996; the same reporting links her green card to 2001 and naturalization to 2006. The original user question asked specifically when she received a work permit (an Employment Authorization Document, or EAD) and employment authorization as Melania Knauss, which is a narrower administrative detail than an H‑1B approval or green card grant. The available analyses note the H‑1B approval date and earlier work performed while on a visitor visa, but they do not provide a definitive EAD issuance date in the name Melania Knauss [2] [1] [3].
2. Timeline assembled from contemporaneous reporting — what is confirmed in the record
Reported documentation and news accounts converge on a timeline: entry on a B‑1/B‑2 visa on August 27, 1996; an H‑1B petition/approval in mid‑October 1996 (commonly cited as October 18, 1996) authorizing modeling work; earnings recorded from modeling jobs between September 10 and October 15, 1996, while on a visitor visa; and later adjustment to permanent resident status in March 2001 followed by U.S. citizenship in 2006. This timeline indicates formal employment authorization via H‑1B by October 1996 and eventual green card status by 2001, but does not document a separately issued EAD card specifically under the Melania Knauss name in public reporting. Multiple outlets report these dates [1] [2] [3].
3. Where accounts diverge — disputed points and unanswered administrative details
Reporting diverges on whether Melania’s earnings from modeling in September–October 1996 constituted unauthorized employment and whether any EAD was issued to her name distinct from H‑1B paperwork. Some accounts present the early modeling pay as evidence she worked without authorization prior to the H‑1B effective date; others emphasize that the H‑1B was secured in October 1996 and that later visas and an EB‑1/other work-based petitions followed around 2000–2001. Crucially, none of the cited analyses produce a verifiable EAD issuance date stamped to Melania Knauss, leaving the specific question of an EAD unresolved in public reporting. These discrepancies are reflected across major reporting outlets [1] [4] [5].
4. Immigration categories and what each document would mean in context
An H‑1B approval grants employer‑specific work authorization beginning on its effective date; an EAD (Employment Authorization Document) is a different form of work permit tied to other nonimmigrant categories or pending adjustment applications. Public records and reporting identify the 1996 H‑1B approval and the 2001 adjustment to permanent residency as the primary legal mechanisms authorizing work — not a standalone EAD under Melania Knauss — which is why sources phrase their findings as H‑1B approvals and green card grants rather than EAD issuance. Discussions about an “Einstein” or EB‑1 application in 2000–2001 are about immigrant classification leading to a green card rather than an initial EAD card [5] [6].
5. Bottom line, evidence gaps, and recommended next steps for verification
The balance of contemporary reporting shows Melania entered on a visitor visa in August 1996 and had an H‑1B work visa approved in October 1996, with permanent residency in 2001 and naturalization in 2006; no publicly cited document in the analyses conclusively shows an EAD issued under the name Melania Knauss with a specific date. To conclusively answer the original question about an EAD issuance date would require inspection of primary immigration records (USCIS/Department of Homeland Security forms or certified copies of past immigration documents) or direct disclosure from relevant agencies. The publicly available journalism and fact checks cited here document the H‑1B and green card milestones but leave the separate EAD question unanswered in the record [2] [1] [3].