Melania Trump's parents became U.S. citizens through the family-based immigration process, which her husband, Donald Trump, has often criticized and labeled as "chain migration". The process they used was entirely legal under U.S. immigration law at the time.
Key Points
The Process: Melania Trump, after becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2006, sponsored her Slovenian-born parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs, for green cards as "immediate relatives". Once they met the five-year permanent residency requirement, they were eligible to apply for and obtained U.S. citizenship, which they received in 2018.
"Chain Migration": The term "chain migration" is a pejorative term used by Donald Trump and his administration to describe the legal process of family reunification. The policy allows U.S. citizens to sponsor close relatives, such as spouses, minor children, and parents, for permanent legal residency.
Political Irony: The Knavs' path to citizenship sparked controversy and accusations of hypocrisy because their son-in-law was actively campaigning to end this exact form of immigration, proposing a merit-based system that would limit family sponsorships to only spouses and minor children.
Legality: The Knavses' attorney, Michael Wildes, confirmed they followed all legal procedures and received no special treatment, calling their naturalization "an example of it going right" within the existing immigration system.
