NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said American companies can now hire Indian graduates from US universities under the newly proposed ‘gold card’ citizenship initiative.
This followed Trump's unveiling of the ‘gold card’ as a pathway to US citizenship for wealthy foreign investors willing to invest $5 million.
President Trump said that the current immigration system has made it difficult for top international talent, especially from countries like India, to stay and work in the US.
“I get calls from, as an example, companies where they want to hire the No. 1 student at the school,” Trump said during his first full Cabinet meeting of his second term on Wednesday.
“A person comes from India, China, Japan, or other countries, attends prestigious schools like Harvard or the Wharton School of Finance… they receive job offers, but those offers are quickly rescinded because there's no certainty about whether they can remain in the country,” he explained.
Emphasising the impact of these restrictions, Trump added, “They return to their home countries, start businesses, and go on to become billionaires, creating thousands of jobs.”
In this context, Trump announced that US companies would be able to purchase a gold card to help in the recruitment of such talented students.
“I want to ensure that person can stay in the country. These companies can buy a gold card and use it as part of their recruitment process,” he said.
Trump predicted the programme would be popular with businesses, adding, “I happen to think it’s going to sell like crazy. It’s a bargain.”
More Indian students than ever before hold U.S. student visas, show the latest data and the golden visa offer for hiring would prove good for them.
Trump unveiled the gold visa proposal on Tuesday, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announcing that the initiative could launch within two weeks without the need for congressional approval, unlike other similar visa programmes.
In 2024, India became the leading source of international students for the first time since the 2008/2009 academic year, with over 331,000 students studying in the United States. Additionally, India continued to be the largest sender of international graduate students for the second consecutive year, with the number of Indian graduate students rising by 19 percent to nearly 200,000.
India also "remained the largest sender" of international graduate (master's and PhD level) students to the US for the second consecutive year. The number of Indian graduate students rose by 19 percent, reaching 196,567. The number of undergraduate students from India also grew by 13 percent, reaching 36,053, while the number of non-degree students saw a 28 percent decline, totaling 1,426 students, according to the report.
In the 2022-23 academic year, China was the leading source country for international students in the US, followed by India.
The top five source countries for international students in the US for 2023-24 are -- India, China (2,77,398), South Korea (43,149), Canada (28,998) and Taiwan (23,157).
