Melania Trump came to the U.S. as a young model and received a work visa in 2001. Over time, she built a successful modeling career and later became First Lady.
However, her immigration history has faced renewed scrutiny due to her husband’s strict immigration policies.
In 2001, Melania was granted an EB-1 visa—nicknamed the “Einstein visa”—typically reserved for people with extraordinary ability, such as Nobel Prize winners or Olympic athletes.
Critics question how she qualified, since there’s no public record of major awards or groundbreaking achievements. Representative Jasmine Crockett raised the issue in Congress, arguing that Melania did not meet the visa’s high standards and called out the perceived double standard in how immigration rules are enforced.
Crockett said Melania was not a top model like Tyra Banks or Cindy Crawford and that the criteria didn’t seem to apply fairly. Melania hasn’t commented, but social media reactions have been divided. This isn’t the first time her visa status has been debated—Representative Maxine Waters also criticized it in the past. The controversy highlights tensions between personal immigration stories and national immigration policy.
