Melania Trump did follow the rules in applying for work visas when she first came to the U.S., and earned her green card by being a fashion model of “extraordinary ability,” a lawyer for the Trump family said Wednesday, after reviewing the immigration history of the wife of the GOP presidential nominee.
The Trump campaign didn’t release any of the documents, so it was impossible to independently verify Mrs. Trump’s version of events, and some immigration experts said the explanation did little to clear up questions about how a relatively unknown model earned a coveted green card.
Questions about Mrs. Trump’s history arose after the New York Post in August ran modeling photos it said were taken in 1995 — a year before Mrs. Trump said she was admitted to work in the U.S.
But the photographer told The Washington Times that the photos were actually taken in 1996, which would be in keeping with the new timeline from Mrs. Trump, who according to her lawyer didn’t arrive in the U.S. until October of that year, and who remained in legal status her entire time.
“It has been suggested by various media outlets that in 1995 Mrs. Trump illegally worked as a model in the United States while on a visitor visa. Following a review of her relevant immigration paperwork, I can unequivocally state that these allegations are not supported by the record, and are therefore completely without merit,” said Michael J. Wildes, an immigration lawyer who detailed Mrs. Trump’s path to citizenship in a two-page letter.
He said Mrs. Trump worked on an H-1B visa for five years, renewing it annually until 2001, when she obtained her green card signifying legal permanent residence.
SEE ALSO: Donald Trump shared results from recent physical during ‘Dr. Oz’ taping
She earned the green card by self-petitioning as someone of “extraordinary ability,” Mr. Wildes said. After residing in the U.S. for five years, she was eligible for citizenship in 2006.
Mrs. Trump said her lawyer’s letter should put questions about her past to rest — though she has yet to give a press conference, as her husband, GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, promised last month.
The Trump campaign also has not complied with demands to release her records, leaving analysts to debate whether she’s proved her case.
“It took them two months to produce this letter. All then needed to do was release the visas. And until we actually see the visas we have no reason to believe them because she has been caught lying about her story, her narrative,” said Simon Rosenberg, head of NDN, a Democratic-leaning think tank that pays particular attention to immigration.
He said by not releasing the applications, “there’s an implication of guilt.”
The controversy began when the New York Post published nude photos of Mrs. Trump, who was at the time Melania Knauss, and said they were shot in New York in 1995. That was the year before she said she obtained her work visa, which would have meant she was breaking immigration law.
But the photographer, Jarl Ale de Basseville, told The Washington Times on Wednesday that the photos were actually taken some time in 1996 in Union Square, a neighborhood in New York City.
“It was in ’96, but I don’t remember when,” he said in a brief telephone interview, where he described Mrs. Trump as an unknown model at the time, but said she handled the shoot well.
“She jumped into the photo right away. She was super comfortable. She was super cool with everybody,” he said. “Great girl. Great human being.”
Mrs. Trump has also faced questions about how she obtained her green card — spurred by an interview Mr. Wildes did earlier this year, when he told Univision Mrs. Trump gained her legal residency “based on marriage.”
Now, Mr. Wildes says that’s not true, and she actually won the coveted status by applying based on her professional career.
The application she filed requires her to show “extraordinary ability” in her field on the national or international level — a category that includes the likes of Nobel Prize winners.
But William Stock, an immigration lawyer in Philadelphia, said as long as she showed she was well-known in her field in Slovenia, that would qualify.
“Nothing about this surprises me,” he said after looking over the letter detailing Mrs. Trump’s history.
David Leopold, another immigration lawyer, said he still has questions, though, and said the only way to clear them up is for the Trump campaign to release the documents.
“Ordinarily I probably wouldn’t even care, but her husband, Trump, has made illegal immigration, legal immigration, the cornerstone of his campaign. And he’s really been strict about people playing by the rules. How did she make this claim?” he said. “There is a record here that raises some questions.”
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.