Did Melania Trump Immigrate Legally? Nude Photos Timeline Raises Question

This is not Donald Trump's week.

When nude quasi-lesbian photos of Melania Trump were released and published by the New York Post earlier this week, more than a few eyebrows were raised. Now the timeline of the soft porn shots are raising questions as to whether or not the former Slovenian model immigrated to the United States legally.

According to Trump mythology, Melania first came to the United States in 1996 and worked with the system to immigrate legally. "You follow the rules. You follow the law. Every few months you need to fly back to Europe and stamp your visa. After a few visas, I applied for a green card and got it in 2001," she said in a Harpers Bazaar interview.

During the same interview, Mrs. Trump blasted the press for their unfair treatment of her. "They interview people about me who don't even know me. These people, they want to have 15 minutes of fame in talking about me, and reporters don't check the facts...You can see how they turn around stories and how unfair they can be," she said.

Unfortunately for Mrs. Trump, the fact-checkers at Politico can read a calendar. They note that the nude photos printed on the cover of the New York Post date back to 1995 and were taken in the United States.

According to Politico, the Trump story of Melania of leaving the country and reapplying for a visa numerous times is not consistent with an H-1B working visa which can be renewed in the country. Her story, however is consistent with a B-1 or B2 Temporary Business Visitor or Tourist visa, neither of which would have allowed her to work.

"If Melania was traveling to the U.S. on a B-1 business visa, there is a potential problem," said a Washington-based partner of a major national immigration law firm. "She would not have been authorized to work in the U.S. while on a B-1 visa. In fact, if a customs agent encounters someone entering the U.S. on a B-1 visa and they know that the individual intends to work for a U.S. employer, the individual will usually be denied admission. In order to avoid being sent back to Slovenia, she may have had to lie about the purpose of her trip."

"Visa fraud would call into question a green card application and subsequent citizenship application, said immigration lawyers - thus raising questions about Melania Trump's legal status, even today, despite her marriage to a U.S. citizen," Politico noted.

Illegal immigration has been a cornerstone of Trump's candidacy.