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An Anonymous Coward writes:

From The New York Times:

"Reports that the first lady, Melania Trump, received an immigrant visa reserved for "individuals with extraordinary ability" in 2001, when she was a model, have thrust the EB-1 visa program into the spotlight. The news, first reported by The Washington Post, raised questions about whether Mrs. Trump had truly qualified for the visa.

But several immigration lawyers rebuffed those questions, saying the requirements for the EB-1 immigrant visa leave far more room for interpretation than its nickname and its best-and-brightest reputation suggest."

"The notion that you somehow have to be a genius or Einstein is utter fiction, said Chris Wright, a lawyer based in Los Angeles. We have succeeded with models no more accomplished than Melania Trump."

"Elissa Taub, a lawyer in Memphis who secured the EB-1 for [a] German gymnast, said that some of her denials burn me to this day, like that of a nuclear astrophysicist who had produced groundbreaking work at a national lab. Immigration officials said his title on the job was not senior enough to merit the EB-1.

We lost a great scientific mind due to this crazy decision, she said of the scholar, who returned to India.

In another case, U.S.C.I.S. acknowledged that a Chinese researcher had fulfilled three criteria to qualify, but that scientists who have risen to the very top of the field have garnered citations numbered in the thousands, not in the hundreds, as he had shown. He was denied."

Nothing like the best and the brightest, right?

Original Submission