raising questions about whether they relied on ‘chain migration’
The parents of first lady Melania Trump have become legal permanent residents of the United States and are close to obtaining their citizenship, according to people familiar with their status, but their attorney declined to say how or when the canadagoosecanadaoutlet couple gained their green cards.
Immigration experts said Viktor and Amalija Knavs very likely relied on a family reunification process that President Trump has derided as “chain migration” and proposed ending in such cases.
The Knavses, formerly of Slovenia, are living in the country on green cards, according to Michael Wildes, a New York based immigration lawyer who represents the first lady and her family.
canada goose clearance sale “I can confirm that Mrs. Trump’s parents are both lawfully admitted to the canada goose womens outlet United States as permanent residents,” he said. “The family, as they are not part of canada goose outlet online store the administration, has asked that their canada goose outlet paypal privacy be respected, so I will not comment further on this matter.” canada goose clearance sale
Canada Goose Jackets The Knavses are awaiting scheduling for their naturalization oath ceremony, according to a person with knowledge of their immigration filings. citizenship. Canada Goose Jackets
It is unclear when the Knavses first moved to the United States, but by late 2007, Viktor Knavs was listed in public records as residing at Mar a Lago, Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Fla.
canada goose store Questions over the Knavses’ immigration status have escalated since Trump campaigned for the White House on a hard line anti immigration agenda. citizens to sponsor their parents and siblings for legal residency in the United States. canada goose store
Trump has repeatedly blasted the long standing policy as “chain migration.” In last month’s State of the Union address, the president called that process a threat to Americans’ security and quality of life. Under his plan, he said, only spouses and minor children could be sponsored for legal residency.
But immigration experts said that such a path was the most likely method his in laws would have used to obtain permits to live in the United States.
Matthew Kolken, a partner at a New York immigration law firm, said there are only two substantive ways Trump’s in laws could gain green cards: through sponsorship by their daughter or an employer. The latter is unlikely, he said, as it would require canada goose outlet toronto location evidence that there were no Americans who could do the job for which they canada goose outlet were hired.
Canada Goose Parka The Knavses are reportedly retired. In Slovenia, Viktor Knavs, now 73, worked as a chauffeur and car salesman. Amalija Knavs, now 71, was a pattern maker at a textile factory. citizens. Canada Goose Parka
canada goose “That would be canada goose jacket uk the logical way to do it, the preferred way to do it and possibly the only way to do it under the facts that I know,” Leopold said. canada goose
Foreigners can also petition for refugee status or other humanitarian programs, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
canada goose factory sale A White House spokesman and a spokeswoman for the first lady declined to comment. canada goose factory sale
The revelation that the Knavses have permanent canada goose outlet las vegas legal residency threw a spotlight once again on questions about Melania Trump’s immigration history.
Wildes, her attorney, has said that she first came to the United States from Slovenia in 1996 for modeling work, first on a visitor’s visa and then a work permit. In 2000, he said, Trump sponsored herself for a green card based on her “extraordinary ability” as a model. government that she qualified to receive a green card for her “extraordinary ability,” a category generally reserved canada goose stockists uk for highly accomplished people such as Nobel Prize winners.
[Melania Trump shares more immigration information but no documentation]
Canada Goose sale In 2001, several years after meeting Donald Trump, she received a green card that granted her permanent residency, Wildes has said. citizen in 2006, the year canada goose outlet uk fake after she and Trump were married. Canada Goose sale
“I came here for my career,” Melania Trump told Harper’s Bazaar in January 2016. “I did so well. I moved here. It never crossed my mind to stay here without papers. That is just the person you are. You follow the rules. You follow the law.”
canada goose uk shop After their daughter moved to the United States, the Knavses joined her, living on and off with the Trumps. As of December 2007, Viktor Knavs was using Mar a Lago as his address and had a Florida based Mercedes Benz registered in his name, according to public records. canada goose uk shop
They are not the only family members to join Melania Trump from Slovenia: Her older sister, Ines, lives in an apartment in a Trump owned building on Park Avenue in New York, public records show.
Since the first lady and her son, Barron, moved into the White House last summer, her parents have been seen frequently in Washington.
Such efforts are not unusual, and some congressional staffs, including canada goose outlet in montreal Schumer’s, have a dedicated immigration case worker to handle such requests. Schumer’s office declined to comment.
buy canada goose jacket cheap In his State of the Union address on Jan. 30, President Trump offered a four point immigration plan that he said “protects the nuclear family by ending chain migration.” buy canada goose jacket cheap.