Melania Trump has been the First Lady of the United States (US) since Donald Trump was inaugurated in January 2017. Although she has lived in the States for many years, she was born in Slovenia. How did she become a US citizen?
Two years later, the now-First Lady met her husband, Donald Trump, reportedly at a party in a nightclub.
The began dating soon after and were in a relationship for seven years before tying the knot.
Melania’s modelling career continued in the States and she posed for Vanity Fair, Vogue and New York magazine.
How did Melania become a US citizen?
First moving to the United States on a tourist visa, she soon obtained H-1B work visas.
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This allowed her to continue working in the States and soon she started a campaign for permanent residency.
In 2000, the First Lady petitioned for residency under the EB-1 programme, which is designed to help people with “extraordinary abilities”.
Those applying for an EB-1 for extraordinary ability must provide evidence of an award of meet three of 10 criteria proud excellence in their field.
However, it may not be as difficult to obtain as it would appear, Susan McFadden, a specialist US visa lawyer at the Gudeon and McFadden law firm in London, told BBC.
She said: “You do not have to be a Nobel prize winner to get the extraordinary ability visa. I’ve gotten EB-1 visas for people you’ve never heard of and never will.
“An experienced lawyer knows what the US citizenship and immigration services is looking for, and how to bring out of the client’s background things that will be attractive to the agency.”
In the midst of a successful career, it is likely Melania was able to get the help of an experienced lawyer.
She has been the First Lady of the United States for more than three years and is the second foreign-born woman to hold the title.
Melania and Donald tied the knot in Florida on January 22, 2005 in a lavish ceremony.
They have since had one child together, Barron Trump, who is now 13.
The former model is also the step-mother to Donald’s other children, Donald Jr., 42, Ivanka, 38, Eric, 36, and Tiffany, 26.