It is unclear exactly what visa she had but the EB-1 is not “the genius visa”. It is sometimes called that but a better statement is “extraordinary abilities” visa.
Do I think melania demonstrated extraordinary abilities in her being friends with a casting director and old enough to sell cigarettes but look young enough that the target demographic (kids) would still be attracted to her? I don’t know and I don’t care
Because, having assisted with a LOT of paperwork over the years? It is almost always about just making a fat enough folder that nobody reads beyond the list of documents that meet whatever requirements. And you generally pick one based on the nationality of the applicant, what your lawyer is willing to attempt, and what advantages you have by nature of the company’s “status”
But what I do know? She is far from the only model to get an EB-1 (or H1-B). So you can argue that immigration needs an overhaul (and considering the verbiage… trump is probably your man) but she really doesn’t show any signs of being an exception. She was just a model that had connections and looked younger than she was. Which… explains a lot about who she would end up associating with but that has very little to do with immigration.
https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/07/02/melania-trump-einstein-visa/
It is unclear exactly what visa she had but the EB-1 is not “the genius visa”. It is sometimes called that but a better statement is “extraordinary abilities” visa.
Do I think melania demonstrated extraordinary abilities in her being friends with a casting director and old enough to sell cigarettes but look young enough that the target demographic (kids) would still be attracted to her? I don’t know and I don’t care
Because, having assisted with a LOT of paperwork over the years? It is almost always about just making a fat enough folder that nobody reads beyond the list of documents that meet whatever requirements. And you generally pick one based on the nationality of the applicant, what your lawyer is willing to attempt, and what advantages you have by nature of the company’s “status”
But what I do know? She is far from the only model to get an EB-1 (or H1-B). So you can argue that immigration needs an overhaul (and considering the verbiage… trump is probably your man) but she really doesn’t show any signs of being an exception. She was just a model that had connections and looked younger than she was. Which… explains a lot about who she would end up associating with but that has very little to do with immigration.