Gaps in Melania Trump's immigration story raise questions

[OriZ 3,157]

proof that trump's platform is centered on "THE WALL"? or proof that melania didn't have to play by the strict immigration rules. i mean come on guys, neither of you cursed the affluent when waiting on your loved ones to get here? you didn't notice that some have an easier process than others? you don't think that profession and wealth play a role in this process? personally, i could care less about how melania got here (obviously), i have no issue with her being here or staying here forever and singing dixie till the day she dies. good for her. but i'm not at all a fan of her husband's immigration platform either. so it strikes me as a mighty entitled stance, to want to build a wall and kick out folks who might not have careers that aide in the immigration process or money to make the process smooth and easy.

Profession - definitely. Wealth - not so sure. At least, not when it comes to the same type of visa and same process = apples to apples. If you're talking about other types(investors etc) then I can see your point.

-i don't feel the poverty level requirements are ridiculous because i feel that for poor(er) americans, the only feasible avenue of legal immigration is marriage and that is problematic for a number of reasons. poor americans have just as much right to bring their loved ones to america as people who have the money to hire lawyers, take extended trips to visit, support two households in two countries for a undetermined amount of time.

I find this to be a complex issue. While my wife and I didn't have an issue with meeting the guidelines, and while I don't believe in open borders, I do believe nobody should get "locked out" of the opportunity to legally live with their spouse in the country of their choosing. That does not mean they have to be approved(based on vetting etc), but at least be given the chance. For some, due to the AOS part of things, this is not even a possibility and this is a problem. However, the flip side of things is how many people can you bring in that you know ahead of time you're going to have to support? Which is why I consider it a complex issue and honestly have no easy answer for it.

[OriZ 3,157]

-yes, too bad if one is not rich. class warfare is an actual thing, alive and well in this country. i think our current election dilemma is quite evident of that, do we pick the rich dude pretending he lives by the same rules as us worker bees or do we pick the rich lady who knows how to relate a bit better to worker bees but has to try and hide that her pockets lined with corporate interest? money is king, regardless of potus.

And Obama ain't lackin in that department either...the problem for me is, none of them(Clinton, Obama, Trump, Bush, etc) do anything or actually have any policies that will change that. On the contrary, what has been done in the last 8 years and will most likely continue in the next 4 only widens the gap.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

And Obama ain't lackin in that department either...the problem for me is, none of them(Clinton, Obama, Trump, Bush, etc) do anything or actually have any policies that will change that. On the contrary, what has been done in the last 8 years and will most likely continue in the next 4 only widens the gap.

President Obama wasn't rich before he ran for office. He made bank after being sworn in, but being a Illinois senator didn't bring in 7 figures or more.

[TBoneTX 46,320]

If He/She could not meet the very low poverty level requirements or even pay the immigration fees, then date locally. Don't even go to poorer countries to look for spouses and complain about having to support 2 households.

Perhaps all who file the I-129F in hopes of a K-1 visa should be required to prove, at the USCIS and consular levels, that they have the fees for Adjustment of Status already allocated and placed in a separate, otherwise-untouchable bank account.

Edited August 5, 2016 by TBoneTX

[Rob L 3,811]

Very few.. is a stretch. How about none

the logic is clear...if she performed the nude photo shoot in ny (as stated in the national media) and received rent money from the agent who profitted during that same period (as stated by the national media) then it would technically be under the tabletable wages.

[Rob L 3,811]

Perhaps all who file the I-129F in hopes of a K-1 visa should be required to prove, at the USCIS and consular levels, that they have the fees for Adjustment of Status already allocated and placed in a separate, otherwise-untouchable bank account.

I am not saying that this is a bad idea..but do we want one more bureaucratic step

[TBoneTX 46,320]

I am not saying that this is a bad idea..but do we want one more bureaucratic step

Well, how best to minimize the bureaucracy... include it in the Affidavit of Support?

Thinking out loud from the tip of the forebrain.

[smilesammich 10,727]

If He/She could not meet the very low poverty level requirements or even pay the immigration fees, then date locally.

Don't even go to poorer countries to look for spouses and complain about having to support 2 households.

Similar analogy: rich people could afford many mistresses while other has to stick to one or no wife

i don't really think about immigration in terms of finding a spouse or affording strange, i think of immigration in terms of freedom of movement. this is why i don't like that marriage is the only feasible means of immigration for poorer countries.

[smilesammich 10,727]

Profession - definitely. Wealth - not so sure. At least, not when it comes to the same type of visa and same process = apples to apples. If you're talking about other types(investors etc) then I can see your point.

I find this to be a complex issue. While my wife and I didn't have an issue with meeting the guidelines, and while I don't believe in open borders, I do believe nobody should get "locked out" of the opportunity to legally live with their spouse in the country of their choosing. That does not mean they have to be approved(based on vetting etc), but at least be given the chance. For some, due to the AOS part of things, this is not even a possibility and this is a problem. However, the flip side of things is how many people can you bring in that you know ahead of time you're going to have to support? Which is why I consider it a complex issue and honestly have no easy answer for it.

wealth; can afford a lawyers, can afford to take of work, can afford to live with bae/spouse in foreign country, can afford to bribe consulates so willing, can afford to devote endless resources to petitioning immigration liasons, can afford to support bae/spouse/their kids/ etcetcetc

i didn't wealth means a guaranteed win at the process, but your odds are better.

my ideal is open borders. so that is the basis i approach immigration from. i do understand the necessity of screening and background checks and i think our efforts should be devoted to this aspect of immigration, not so much the reason one wants to emigrate. people should not be bound to the area they were born.

eta, i'm not concerned with having a citizen to support an immigrant. they work/they pay taxes.

Edited August 5, 2016 by smilesammich

[smilesammich 10,727]

And Obama ain't lackin in that department either...the problem for me is, none of them(Clinton, Obama, Trump, Bush, etc) do anything or actually have any policies that will change that. On the contrary, what has been done in the last 8 years and will most likely continue in the next 4 only widens the gap.

would you not expect the president of the united states to have money? and obama/clinton/trump/bush make chump change in comparison to oh i dunno, the waltons. hell, the waltons probably hand select the potus.

[OriZ 3,157]

President Obama wasn't rich before he ran for office. He made bank after being sworn in, but being a Illinois senator didn't bring in 7 figures or more.

Obama was worth over $1 million before he was president.

would you not expect the president of the united states to have money? and obama/clinton/trump/bush make chump change in comparison to oh i dunno, the waltons. hell, the waltons probably hand select the potus.

The gap meaning between rich and poor, not between presidents and other rich people. None of them have policies that actually help that issue, yet people keep voting for them believing they will.

[Pennycat 880]

My thoughts on this:

As much as I personally can't stand the guy, or the type of campaign he's running or his "stance" on immigration (I'm mostly bothered by the fact that what he thinks is a stance is just a mountain of evidence of extreme lack of knowledge about this whole thing, which is crazy-making), I think that the focus on this story is hugely misguided. There is a LOT of criticism to levy but it's not this specific type.

First, it seems likely that she was de-facto living and working on a B1/B2 visa until 1996. Her own words about going back to get her visa stamped and now photographic evidence of some sort of modelling work before her H1B timeline really points to this. Also, the fact that the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 got passed in, er, 1996, and is when she got the H1B also should raise a "lookie here" to anyone familiar with immigration.

But the issue is that the IIRAIRA was passed in large part to put a stop to exactly that kind of thing. Edit to add: border runs became impossible-- they started tracking exits at that point. It was still illegal but incredibly common with much less penalties than now and they gave everyone time to "get right" by getting the right visa which is what she did. Or, more accurately, I suspect, her *modeling agency* did. I would pay good money that whoever was running that place just took the cheap route of "what you can get away with" (which is getting the girls B1/B2s and having them border run) vs what is "technically legal". The girls probably had no clue, and still don't (I bet she does now). Now, ignorance of the law is not an excuse for breaking the law, and they would have told her at the embassy in Slovenia that she can't work. But. Who really thinks of modeling as "work"? Not meaning you don't need talent or whatever but that she's not employed in the sense that we all think of it. Or maybe she wasn't paid at all. Put up in some guy's apartment (creepy) and going on "job interviews" where her photos are taken (legal), but that the agency then sells.... wouldn't be the first time foreigners have been exploited due to their immigration status and lack of knowledge of the law. Right? Especially in the modeling world. She's probably lucky she didn't wind up on a stripper's pole somewhere trying to "earn" her passport back (given that time-frame and her region of origin I'd say she's definitely lucky).

Could this all be in my over-active imagination? Sure. But all of the pieces of her story and timeline and the known abuses in the entertainment industry are really pointing to "worked on a B visa, switched to H1B once immigration reform came through and made visa runs impossible, likely mostly the modeling agency's doing, and they're not famous for their human rights practices so... anyone's guess"

So now, excuses, excuses, yes, I know. BUT, this is real life here. This type of thing can and does happen ALL THE TIME (don't even get me started on the lawyers/travel agents overseas who charge folks an arm and a leg to do the DS-160 for a B2 and then lie all over the thing trying to give their client the best shot at the B2 and therefore *their* best shot at selling full price airfare for a 10% commission). So the criticism that can be levied isn't "HAHA this guy married "AN ILLEGAL" it's "how in the world is he married to someone who has been through this process, and possibly the really difficult position above and still have next to zero knowledge of immigration in general and clearly zero empathy or understanding for people with irregular paths to being in this country".

That, to me, is the issue.

Edited August 5, 2016 by CatherineA

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Obama was worth over $1 million before he was president.

The gap meaning between rich and poor, not between presidents and other rich people. None of them have policies that actually help that issue, yet people keep voting for them believing they will.

1.7 million. That's middle class now a days.

[smilesammich 10,727]

The gap meaning between rich and poor, not between presidents and other rich people. None of them have policies that actually help that issue, yet people keep voting for them believing they will.

corporate money is now the puppet master of policy, i don't expect much.

[Merrytooth 5,748]

1.7 million. That's middle class now a days.