NEW YORK >> First lady Melania Trump’s parents have been sworn in as U.S. citizens.

A lawyer for Viktor and Amalija Knavs says the Slovenian couple took the citizenship oath today in New York City.

They had been living in the U.S. as permanent residents.

The Knavses raised Melania in the rural industrial town of Sevnica while Slovenia was under Communist rule.

Viktor was a car dealer. Amalija worked in a textile factory.

They came and went from the ceremony at a Manhattan federal building flanked by Homeland Security police.

Viktor is 74, two years older than President Donald Trump. Amalija is 73.

The first lady, born Melanija, changed her name to Melania Knauss when she started modeling.

She settled in New York in 1996 and met Trump two years later.