The Knavses took an oath of citizenship in August 2018 after appearing at the federal immigration offices in New York City. Prior to that time, Melania's parents had been permanent U.S. residents living in the country with green cards.
Barron is very close to grandparents, with whom he reportedly speaks Slovenian, and Politico described them as "hyperinvolved" in his life. Politico also reported in 2017 that Melania's parents would "become more familiar figures around the White House"—much the way Michelle Obama's mother Marian Robinson did when she moved into the presidential mansion. According to The New York Times, the Knavs "split their time among an apartment in Trump Tower, Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and the suite in the White House once used by Mrs. Obama’s mother."
Viktor and Amalija Knavs are pictured far left with the rest of the Trump family on stage at the Republican National Convention;
They regularly travel with the first family.
Amalija and Viktor, pictured here, disembark Marine One with President Trump, Melania, and Barron at the White House.
They were at the National Thanksgiving Turkey Pardoning Ceremony in the Rose Garden on November 21, 2017. They traveled to Mar-a-Lago with the first family to celebrating Thanksgiving, too. They live part-time in the White House.
Prior to their Washington, D.C. move, the Knavs family were close to the rest of the Trump family—a pattern they've followed since their daughter married Donald Trump. They reportedly lived in Trump Tower in Manhattan, and are frequent fixtures at Mar-a-Lago, a member of the club explained.
The first lady was born in Sevnica, a small town with about 5,000 residents that's an hour's drive from Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital. During Melania's childhood, Slovenia was known as Yugoslavia and was under the rule of Communist President Josip Tito. The Knavses reportedly "still own their house in Sevnica;
on the July 2002 trip, the couple landed on Trump's Boeing 727 in Ljubljana at 8 p.m. and they drove to dinner with the Knavses at the Grand Hotel Toplice on Lake Bled, where they ate onion escalope with pan-fried potatoes, and forest blueberries, and Melania interpreted. On the way out, Trump reportedly asked Viktor, "Is this place for sale?" The mogul was "back at the airport before midnight."
They maintain close ties to Sevnica, their hometown in Slovenia.
They maintain close ties to Sevnica, their hometown in Slovenia.
Viktor and Amalija met in Sevnica in 1966.
