Washington, Aug 5 (IANS): Melania Trump, the wife of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, has rejected claims of violating visa rules when she started working as a model in New York.

Melania Trump, who has has yet to clarify what type of visa she used during a 1995 photo shoot in New York, said in a statement that she had followed immigration laws "at all times", BBC reported.

Donald Trump has taken a hard line on illegal immigration in his campaign, but so far his campaign managers have refused to say exactly which visa she had used.

The development comes during a turbulent week for the billionaire property developer.

There were reports of deep divisions in the Republican Party after a series of controversial statements by Donald Trump.

Melania Trump said she began working as a model in the US in 1996, but nude photos published at the weekend by a New York tabloid appear to have been taken in 1995 for a now defunct French magazine.

According to BBC, this discrepancy has raised questions about her immigration status at the time and whether she had the right to work.

The owner of one modelling agency, Paolo Zampolli, said he sponsored Melania Trump for an H1B work visa in 1996 as she has said that she had to go back to her native Slovenia every few months to renew her permit -- something that is only generally necessary for tourist and business visas that do not permit work.

The confusion has the potential to do significant damage to Donald Trump's campaign, given his robust views on illegal immigrants.

He has also railed against the use of the H1B visa specifically, suggesting abuse of it was widespread and rampant.