First Lady Melania Trump’s ‘Einstein visa’ was called into question by an outspoken Democrat lawmaker during a fiery hearing on Capitol Hill.
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) has hit out at Melania for immigrating to the US in 2001 on the EB-1A visa, which is reserved for people with ‘significant achievement’.
Crockett, who accused her Republican colleagues of ‘snatching’ off of legal residents, alleged during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday that the GOP lacked integrity ‘when it comes to the president’s family’.
She highlighted how EB-1 visa candidates were typically people who had received significant awards or ‘sustained extraordinary abilities and success’.
‘The first lady, a model – and when I say model I’m not talking about Tyra Banks, Cindy Crawford or Naomi Campbell-level – applied for and was given an EB-1 visa,’ Crockett told the hearing, noting that the visa is commonly known as an ‘Einstein visa’.
‘Let me tell you how you receive an Einstein visa,’ she continued. ‘You’re supposed to have some sort of significant achievement, like being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize or a Pulitzer, being an Olympic medalist or having other sustained extraordinary abilities and success in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics.
‘Last time I checked, the First Lady had none of those accolades under her belt. It doesn’t take an Einstein to see that the math ain’t mathin’ here.’
Alex Nowrasteh, Vice President for Economic and Social Policy Studies, who witnessed Wednesday’s hearing, however, was quick to defend the First Lady, noting how ‘not everybody could marry Donald Trump’.
‘You sure are right,’ the Democrat quipped back. ‘I couldn’t have done it.’
Rep Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas, pictured in February) pelted First Lady Melania Trump with insults for immigrating the the US in 2001 on the so-called ‘Einstein visa’, which is reserved for people with ‘significant achievement’
Crockett claims Slovenian-born Melania (pictured with her husband President Trump earlier this month), who was a model at the time of her application, wasn’t even among the top runway stars of the late 1990s and shouldn’t have been eligible for an EB-1 visa
Melania, who was born in Slovenia in 1970, became a US citizen in July 2006. She is only the second foreign-born first lady.
During her childhood, Melania’s father Viktor was a Communist Party member under Yugoslav dictator Marshal Tito, and as Melania grew up the family lived in a string of modest apartments. Her mother Amalija worked as an executive in a textile factory.
She started modeling in Europe in the late 1990s and moved to the US on an EB-1 visa three years after meeting Trump at New York City’s Kit Kat Club.
After becoming a naturalized US citizen, Melania sponsored her parents to become American citizens.
Her prior immigration status came under fire during Wednesday’s meeting as Crockett argued Trump’s sweeping ICE raids lacked ‘integrity’.
‘Integrity isn’t snatching lawful visa holders off the streets and throwing them into unmarked vans,’ she told the hearing.
‘Integrity is not revoking visas based on social media posts that hurt somebody’s little feelings because kids decided they wanted to go after Trump or this administration. We have a thing called free speech in this country.’
Crockett, after implying that Republicans were punishing people for exercising their first Amendment rights, also accused her colleagues of being hypocritical.
Donald Trump and Melania Trump, then Melania Knauss, attend the Cipriani Dinner Concert Series in New York City in September 1998
Donald Trump and his then-girlfriend model Melania Knauss, now Trump, raise their glasses for a New Year’s toast at his Mar-a-Lago estate on January 1, 2004
‘And since we are talking about integrity, I’m confused as to why my Republican colleagues aren’t we talking about the lack of integrity when it comes to the president’s family’s visas?’ she asked.
She then launched her attack on Melania.
Crockett claims Slovenian-born Melania, who was a model at the time of her visa application, wasn’t even among the top runway stars of the day and therefore shouldn’t have been eligible for an Einstein visa.
She then asked if J or N visa holders ‘typically improve or impair our economy?’
A J visa is awarded to people participating in educational and cultural exchange programs in the US, while an N visa is granted to certain representatives from NATO countries – and their families – who are travelling on official business.
Nowrasteh said these visa holders ‘generally improve the economy’, sharing an anecdote from his own family.
‘My wife is a very successful woman. She makes a ton of money, which I’m grateful for,’ he said, prompting laughter from the room.
‘And the reason why we’re able to do that while having three children is because of the au pair visa – somebody who is here on a J, who is here and able to supply this for us.’
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump salute during a parade celebrating the 250th anniversary of the US Army on June 14, 2025
Nowrasteh then rushed to ‘defend Melania real quick’.
‘Not everybody could marry Donald Trump, and I think that’s quite an achievement, so I think she deserves credit for that,’ he said. ‘Nobody up here could have done it!’
That’s when Crockett, in a snarky tone, admitted she couldn’t have been Trump’s wife.