{"id":19726,"date":"2025-07-07T23:57:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T23:57:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=19726"},"modified":"2025-07-07T23:57:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T23:57:03","slug":"new-details-in-melania-trump-visa-controversy-comes-to-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=19726","title":{"rendered":"New details in Melania Trump visa controversy comes to light"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Melania Trump obtained her US visa in the early 2000s. But the so-called \u201cEinstein visa she received didn\u2019t sit well with everyone. Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat, posed a question to the first lady last week, inquiring how Melania might have obtained a visa intended for someone with \u201cextraordinary abilities.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><div class=\"vncvd69f5bab693b05\" ><div style=\"width:100%; max-width:1200px; margin:0 auto;\">\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/bolt-casino.com?r=0BFDBF1283\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n    <img \n      src=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/f8693ebb-2018-480f-a2f7-0096810c07f0.jpg\" \n      alt=\"200% Deposit Bonus + 10% Cashback\" \n      style=\"width:100%; height:auto; display:block; border-radius:8px; cursor:pointer;\"\n    \/>\n  <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 1201px) {\r\n.vncvd69f5bab693b05 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 993px) and (max-width: 1200px) {\r\n.vncvd69f5bab693b05 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 769px) and (max-width: 992px) {\r\n.vncvd69f5bab693b05 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 768px) {\r\n.vncvd69f5bab693b05 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (max-width: 767px) {\r\n.vncvd69f5bab693b05 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n<\/style>\r\n\n<p>But was it right to give\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.newsner.com\/tag\/melania-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Melania<\/a>\u00a0the visa or not? Now, fact-checking site Snopes has investigated the matter, and it may not be as controversial as some might think.<\/p>\n<p>In 2000, Melania, then a promising model, applied for a work visa in the US. In the years before, she had been scouted by Paolo Zampolli, co-owner of Metropolitan Models, who helped her apply. He was also the one who introduced Melania to Trump.<\/p>\n<p>She had been in the US since 1996, initially holding a tourist visa and later obtaining a series of work visas, her attorney said, according to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/melania-trump-einstein-visa-questioned-jasmine-crockett-2090901\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Newsweek<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In 2001, Melania Trump obtained the EB-1 Visa, also known as the \u201cEinstein visa.\u201d Per the US Citizenship and Immigration Services website, an individual may be eligible for the visa if \u201cyou are an alien of extraordinary ability, are an outstanding professor or researcher, or are a certain multinational executive or manager.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The government cites Pulitzer Prize, Oscar, and Olympic winners, as well as other highly acclaimed individuals, as examples of those who have obtained the visa. Several requirements must be met for a person to be eligible for the \u201cEinstein Visa.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-congresswoman-questioned-how-melania-trump-received-her-us-visa\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Congresswoman questioned how Melania Trump received her US visa<\/h2>\n<p>Since Melania obtained just that visa, one congresswoman recently questioned how she received it in the first place. Last week, Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat, took aim at the first lady during a House Judiciary Committee hearing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy aren\u2019t we talking about integrity when it comes to the president\u2019s family\u2019s visas?\u201d Jasmine Crockett asked. \u201cLet me tell you how you receive an Einstein visa. You\u2019re supposed to have some sort of significant achievement, like being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize or a Pulitzer, being an Olympic medalist, or having other sustained extraordinary abilities and success in sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. Last time I checked, the first lady had none of those accolades under her belt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMelania, the first lady, a model\u2014and when I say model, I\u2019m not talking about Tyra Banks, Cindy Crawford, or\u00a0Naomi Campbell-level\u2014applied for and was given an EB1 visa,\u201d she continued. It doesn\u2019t take an Einstein to see that the math ain\u2019t mathin\u2019 here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jasmine Crockett\u2019s words on Melania Trump left some furious as they disagreed with her. Melania\u2019s status as an American citizen \u2013 or whether she was even entitled to a visa \u2013 has been raised several times. But perhaps it can be settled now. Fact-checking website\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.snopes.com\/news\/2025\/07\/02\/melania-trump-einstein-visa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Snopes<\/a>\u00a0has looked into the matter, and it turns out that it might not have been\u00a0<em>that<\/em>\u00a0strange that Melania obtained the \u201cEinstein visa:\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-fact-checking-website-says-melania-could-have-been-qualified-for-einsten-visa\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fact-checking website says Melania \u2018could have been\u2019 qualified for \u201cEinsten\u201d visa<\/h2>\n<p>While the site hasn\u2019t been able to confirm whether Melania Trump actually received the EB-1 visa, they have been able to find other individuals in the modeling business who received a visa, either the EB-1 or the O-1, which requires extraordinary abilities.<\/p>\n<p>Both the EB-1 and the O-1 visas require the applicant to demonstrate extraordinary abilities. Snopes reported, \u201cTrump belonged to neither of the latter two categories, so if she obtained an EB-1 visa, it was under the first category: people with extraordinary abilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn fact, models can qualify for this\u00a0visa\u00a0under certain conditions. The EB-1 immigrant visa is by no means the only visa\u00a0a model or performer\u00a0can apply\u00a0for to\u00a0work in the U.S. Others are the\u00a0O-1A or O-1B\u00a0visas, which are nonimmigrant visas\u00a0valid\u00a0for three years. For example, the comedian\u00a0John Oliver came to the U.S.\u00a0on an O-1\u00a0visa,\u00a0which he had to renew several times before obtaining permanent residency. The former Playboy model\u00a0Shera Bechard\u00a0also obtained this temporary \u2018genius\u2019 visa,\u201d it continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn sum, it is not improbable that a working model\u00a0might\u00a0have received the right to permanently reside in the U.S. based on her extraordinary abilities,\u201d Snopes concluded.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What do you think of this? Please share the article on Facebook and let us know your opinion!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Melania Trump obtained her US visa in the early 2000s. But the so-called \u201cEinstein visa she received didn\u2019t sit well with everyone. Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat, posed a question to the first lady last week, inquiring how Melania might have obtained a visa intended for someone with \u201cextraordinary abilities.\u201d But was it right&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>New details in Melania Trump visa controversy comes to light - VM News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=19726\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New details in Melania Trump visa controversy comes to light - VM News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Melania Trump obtained her US visa in the early 2000s. 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