Washington: US President Donald Trump has announced a new “Trump Gold Card” programme aimed at allowing companies to retain top graduates from American universities. The initiative is expected to benefit thousands of students from India, ending what the President described as a “ridiculous” system that forces skilled talent to leave the country after completing their studies.
Speaking at a White House roundtable with leading technology CEOs on Wednesday, Trump stated that the initiative would provide firms with “certainty” when hiring highly trained international students. He lamented that top graduates are often forced to return to countries like India or China due to visa hurdles, calling the situation “a shame”. Trump noted that the policy shift was largely motivated by industry feedback, specifically citing Apple CEO Tim Cook, who had frequently raised the issue as a significant problem for American competitiveness.
Howard Lutnick, who outlined the programme details, explained that individuals could obtain a Gold Card for $1 million, while corporations could purchase one for $2 million. The scheme includes a rigorous vetting process costing $15,000 to ensure candidates are fully qualified to enter the country. Once approved, employees would have a clear path to citizenship after five years. Notably, the corporate option offers flexibility, allowing companies to “put someone else on the card” if an employee leaves, effectively creating a rotational system for foreign talent.
Trump projected that the programme would generate billions of dollars for the US Treasury and halt the migration of skilled personnel to countries like Canada. The roundtable featured influential technology leaders, including Michael Dell of Dell Technologies, Arvind Krishna of IBM, and Cristiano Amon of Qualcomm. The President emphasised his administration’s commitment to “total dominance in technology”, particularly in artificial intelligence, pledging to cut red tape and centralise regulatory oversight.
This announcement represents one of the most significant immigration policy shifts affecting Indian nationals in over a decade. As India provides the second-largest contingent of foreign students to the US and the majority of H-1B high-skilled visa holders, the Gold Card programme offers a potential alternative to the unpredictable visa lotteries that have long created uncertainty for the Indian tech workforce.
(Inputs from IANS)