The strange case of immigrant Melania Knauss
2 March 2018 | You have obtained the EB-1 green-card, which grants citizenship to people with extraordinary abilities. And recently her parents have also been Americans to all intents and purposes, in spite of the "immigration chain" that Trump wants
For the media it is a clear and glaring example of inconsistency, a bit like the figure of the Trump era. On the one hand, the desire to tear apart what he calls the "immigration chain", which in practice eliminates the possibility for naturalized citizens to obtain family reunification. And on the other hand, doing the exact opposite in the House, especially the White one.
In Trumpian America it happens that Viktor and Amalija Knauss, father and mother of Melania, the third wife in succession of the president, have just become full Americans thanks to the petition for reunification presented by their child. Melania Knauss, everyone knows, was born in Slovenia, in Novo Mesto: father owner in a car dealership and mother seamstress. The Knauss have only one hope of luck to cling to: Melania. A beautiful girl who began working as a model at 16, signing a contract with a Milanese agency just two years later. Ten years later she moved to New York, where she worked with photographers such as Mario Testino and Helmut Newton, ending up on the covers of major fashion magazines. It is in New York that she meets Donald: she begins a relationship that takes center stage on the gossip pages, made official in 2000 with the engagement, followed five years later by the wedding, hosted in the "Mar-A-Lago" estate in Palm Beach, Florida , one of the many tycoon residences. Barron William was born in 2005.
But even the media are getting married, when they discover that in 2000 Melania applied for permanent citizenship by appealing to the "Einstein visa", the "EB-1" green card, the one that grants the privilege of becoming American to people "with extraordinary ”, in the time granted to the brilliant German physicist and to academics, Olympians, scientists, artists and inventors, as long as they have“ contributed to keeping America's name high in the world ”.
The following year, Trump's then-girlfriend is one of five Slovenian-born people to receive the "EB-1", despite her credential list being a bit vague: fashion shows, commercials and the cover of " Sports Illustrated ".
As soon as she became an American citizen, Melania applies for family reunification, also asking for citizenship for mom and dad. Too bad that Trump, in the meantime transformed into his wife and president, does not miss an opportunity to tweet against the phenomenon of chain immigration. Yet, according to some surveys made by the American media, the more Donald insists on the abrogation of the law, the more Melania has become pressing on the practice concerning the visa for her parents.
From the White House, questioned on the issue, absolute silence. The only words are those of Michael Wildes, Viktor's and Amalija Knauss's attorney: “I confirm that Mrs. Trump's parents have been legally admitted to the United States of America as permanent residents. The First Lady's family is not part of the administration and asks that her privacy be respected, so I won't add anything else. "
