Shame Indian students have to leave, says Trump as he unveils Gold Card visa

Shame Indian students have to leave: Trump on need for new immigration rules

US President Donald Trump has described it as a “shame” that students from countries like India and China have to return home after graduating from top American universities.

Speaking at a White House roundtable, Trump unveiled the one-million-dollar ‘Trump Gold Card’, a visa programme aimed at allowing high-skilled foreign graduates to stay in the US and providing a pathway to citizenship.

“It is a gift of getting somebody great coming into our country, because we think these will be some tremendous people that wouldn’t be allowed to stay. They graduate from college, you have to go back to India, they have to go back to China, they have to go back to France, they have to go back to where ever they came from. Very hard to stay. It’s a shame. It’s ridiculous thing. We’re taking care of that,” Trump said.

The Gold Card allows individuals to secure expedited US residency by paying a non-refundable $15,000 processing fee, followed by a $1 million contribution to the US government upon approval.

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Companies can also sponsor foreign employees for $2 million, providing a corporate pathway to retain top talent. The official website, trumpcard.gov, went live on Wednesday, offering details and the application link, promising “US residency in record time.”

Flanked by IBM CEO Arvind Krishna and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell, Trump explained that the Gold Card addresses a longstanding issue for US companies: the difficulty of hiring top foreign graduates due to visa uncertainties.

“You graduate number one from your college, and there’s no way of guaranteeing… that they’re able to stay in the country,” he said, citing concerns raised by Apple CEO Tim Cook and other business leaders.

“It’s not going to be a problem anymore. As you know, they used to send people up to Canada and other places, other countries. So we solved that,” Trump added, noting that the programme would generate billions of dollars for the country.

Trump described the Gold Card as “a Green Card, but much better, much more powerful, a much stronger path… Have to be great people, but much stronger path,” emphasizing its advantage over traditional green cards, which are difficult to obtain.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick explained that both individual and corporate applicants would undergo “full” and “best” vetting to ensure only highly qualified people benefit. Gold Card holders will have a pathway to citizenship after five years, provided they maintain good conduct.

“For a company they can keep putting people on the card, one person per card, and for an individual, it’s a million dollars. And it’s a gift to the United States of America, to help America be great again under Donald Trump,” Lutnick said.

The programme, part of existing visa categories, is designed to attract “the best people” to the US. Lutnick argued that current green card holders earn less than the average American and are more likely to rely on federal assistance. “The idea is from President Trump, he wants to raise it, bring in the best people into America. So same visas, but now just full of the best people,” he said.

According to Trump, the initiative represents a significant overhaul of the skilled-migration system, ensuring that the US attracts and retains world-class talent while also benefiting financially.