Melania Trump’s path to a U.S. visa is actually documented in a fair bit of detail — and it’s unusual for a model.

Here’s what’s known from court filings, press interviews, and her own accounts:

**1. Early trips to the U.S.**

* She first came to the U.S. in **1996** for modeling work.

* At that time, she entered on a **B1/B2 visitor visa** (business/tourism) to do short modeling stints, which technically did not allow her to work — but was a common gray-area practice in the 1990s fashion industry.

**2. Work authorization issue**

* Later in 1996, she obtained an **H-1B work visa** — the same type used by skilled professionals — which she used legally for her modeling jobs.

* This was somewhat rare for fashion models, but the U.S. immigration rules at the time did include a “fashion model of distinguished merit and ability” category under the H-1B program.

* She reportedly had modeling contracts and a sponsoring agency that handled the paperwork.

**3. Green card**

* She got her green card in **2001**, reportedly via the **EB-1 “extraordinary ability” category**, sometimes nicknamed the “Einstein visa” — meant for people at the top of their field.

* Critics have questioned whether her career at that point met the high legal threshold, but the law’s “distinguished merit” language for fashion models gave leeway.

**4. Citizenship**

* She became a U.S. citizen in **2006**, after marrying Donald Trump in 2005.

So the short version:

She started on a visitor visa, moved to an H-1B for models, then got a green card through the EB-1 category, and finally citizenship.

If you want, I can explain how rare it was in the 1990s for a Slovenian model to jump directly to an EB-1 green card — it’s actually pretty unusual.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5761104&forum_id=2#49174714)