Recent events serve as an important reminder that using a tourist (visitor) visa to work unlawfully in the U.S. can come back to haunt you – even after you obtain a green card and US citizenship.
You may have seen the recent press coverage regarding the immigration of Melania Trump, wife of Republican Presidential nominee, Donald Trump. In a news interview, Melania described her prior immigration status and her work history as a model: http://bcove.me/yo6ec78p . Piecing together the facts from the 1990’s, it is very likely that in her news interview she unwittingly admitted to working unlawfully in the U.S. while on a tourist (visitor) visa. Accordingly, journalists have discredited her assertions that she has always complied with immigration laws. Even if you don’t have aspirations for the White House, this news story echoes the importance of resisting the temptation for using a visitor visa to work in the U.S. without authorization.
So what were the inconsistencies in Melania’s story? For the eager immigration student, the following are the details.
According to reports, Melania has stated that she always held valid visa status, including employment authorization, in the U.S. since arriving in 1996 and that she returned to her home country of Slovenia “every few months” to renew her status. Melania subsequently became a U.S. permanent resident in 2001 and is now a U.S. citizen.
However, when photographs were recently released of her early days as a model in the U.S., a light was inadvertently cast on whether some of her early modeling work was done pursuant to valid employment authorization. First, reports state that the photographs appear to place her in the New York City in 1995 when Melania may have been in visitor status only. Second, Melania’s alleged statement about returning to Slovenia regularly to renew her status is at odds with the requirements of H-1B or O-1 status that, as a model, she would have needed.
H-1B status is generally valid for three years and can be extended within the U.S. up to a maximum period of six years (and beyond that maximum depending on circumstances). O-1 status is also valid for an initial period of up to three years and can be extended within the U.S. Therefore, at least theoretically, if Melania came to the U.S. in 1996 and then became a green card holder in 2001, she would not have needed to return to Slovenia at all.
The recent press coverage suggests that Melania’s accounts of her early days in the U.S. are more consistent with someone traveling as a visitor to the U.S., where allowable periods of stay are generally limited to between 3 and 6 months and do not include employment authorization.
If nothing else, this story serves as fair warning to always maintain valid visa status and valid authorization for any employment performed in the United States. Any misrepresentations made to the government – through a petition filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or a Consular interview with the U.S. Department of State abroad, or when seeking admission to the U.S. from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer – are taken very seriously and could call into question subsequent status as a U.S. permanent resident or citizen.