{"id":59409,"date":"2018-02-22T04:54:06","date_gmt":"2018-02-22T04:54:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=59409"},"modified":"2018-02-22T04:54:06","modified_gmt":"2018-02-22T04:54:06","slug":"questions-swirl-melania-trumps-parents-obtain-green-cards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/questions-swirl-melania-trumps-parents-obtain-green-cards.html","title":{"rendered":"Questions Swirl as Melania Trump’s Parents Obtain Green Cards"},"content":{"rendered":"

Questions Swirl as Melania Trump’s Parents Obtain Green Cards<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

The parents of the first lady, Melania Trump, have obtained lawful permanent residency in the United States, a lawyer for the couple confirmed Wednesday, but it remains unclear how or when the couple received their green cards.<\/span><\/p>\n

The lack of clarity about when and how Viktor and Amalija Knavs obtained their legal residencies raises questions about whether the couple secured their residency through family-based immigration, which President Trump calls chain migration and has said he wants to restrict. Immigration experts said it would have been the most direct, and most likely, way for Mrs. Trump\u2019s parents, formerly of Slovenia, to get their green cards.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their immigration lawyer, Michael J. Wildes, declined to offer any details.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a privilege to help this family, but I have to respect their privacy as well,\u201d Mr. Wildes said in a brief interview.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cImmigration is in our DNA,\u201d he added. \u201cWe have to take great pride, no matter where somebody hails from, in that legacy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Stephanie Grisham, a spokeswoman for Mrs. Trump, wrote in an email that she would not comment on Mrs. Trump\u2019s parents because \u201cthey are not part of this administration, and deserve their privacy.\u201d The Washington Post first reported the Knavses\u2019 immigration status.<\/span><\/p>\n

Under family-based immigration, adult American citizens can petition for residency for their parents, adult married children and siblings. Mr. Trump would limit that to parents and children under 21.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the Knavses\u2019 case, Mrs. Trump, who became a citizen in 2006 after obtaining a green card, would have sponsored them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be odd if she sponsored her parents and didn\u2019t want to talk about that because it\u2019s a fairly routine thing,\u201d said Hiroshi Motomura, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who specializes in immigration law. \u201cIt only becomes sensitive if her husband is taking a position against this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Both of Mrs. Trump\u2019s parents have been seen at White House events, celebrated Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump\u2019s Florida estate, and reportedly spend much of their time with the Trump family. Questions about their immigration status were raised in recent months as the administration emphasized stricter immigration reform.<\/span><\/p>\n

About seven million of the 11 million immigrants who obtained green cards between 2007 and 2016 did so through familial relations, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn some ways, lawful permanent resident status is the best of all visas,\u201d said Kevin R. Johnson, the dean of the law school at the University of California, Davis, who has taught immigration law. \u201cIt\u2019s the Cadillac of immigrant visas because it allows you a path to citizenship.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But Mr. Trump has vilified the program as a way for terrorists to enter the United States and has called for aspects of the program to be eliminated as part of immigration reform.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCHAIN MIGRATION must end now!\u201d he wrote on Twitter in November. \u201cSome people come in, and they bring their whole family with them, who can be truly evil. NOT ACCEPTABLE!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It also might have been possible, Mr. Johnson said, for the Knavses, both in their 70s, to obtain residency through an investment visa or a work visa, although the latter would involve employer sponsorship. Mr. Knavs, a former traveling car salesman, and Mrs. Knavs, who used to design patterns for children\u2019s clothes, both appear to be retired.<\/span><\/p>\n

Immigrants can also apply for asylum or enter the diversity lottery, paths that offer limited numbers of visas. Mr. Trump has also criticized the diversity lottery, which allows admission to immigrants from countries that do not send many people to the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf somebody came to me and asked me how to become a citizen, the first question I would ask is \u2018Do you have an American citizen as a relative?\u2019\u201d said Theresa Cardinal Brown, the director of immigration and cross-border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington. \u201cThat is the fastest and most direct route to getting a green card.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In his State of the Union address, Mr. Trump described a four-pillar immigration plan and continued to criticize the family-based immigration program, eliciting boos from Democrats in the chamber.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUnder the current broken system, a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives,\u201d he said. \u201cThis vital reform is necessary, not just for our economy, but for our security, and our future.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/02\/21\/us\/politics\/melania-trump-parents-immigration.html<\/span><\/p>\n

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