Shame Indian students have to return after graduating from US: Trump

As he launches a million-dollar Gold Card visa, Donald Trump criticises rules forcing foreign graduates, including Indians, to leave the US after study

As US President Donald Trump unveiled a new million-dollar “Gold Card” visa for immigrants this week, he used the announcement to criticise current rules that force many foreign students, including those from India and China, to leave the country after graduation.

 

Speaking during a White House roundtable on Thursday, Trump described the situation as a “shame”, arguing that the US educates some of the world’s best students only to send them away once they finish their degrees.

 

“You graduate from college, and 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 wherever they came from. Very hard to stay. It’s a shame,” Trump said.

 

The comments came a day after he announced the Gold Card, a premium visa pitched as a new route to US residency and citizenship for immigrants who can offer what he described as a strong economic contribution.

 

What Trump said about Indian and Chinese students

 

Trump said US companies struggle to retain top international graduates from elite universities because of visa uncertainty.

 

Flanked by IBM’s Indian-American CEO Arvind Krishna and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell, he said the Gold Card would allow firms to “buy” visas for graduates they want to keep.

 

“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,” Trump said.

 

He referred to conversations with Apple CEO Tim Cook and other business leaders about hiring challenges.

 

“They can’t hire people from the best colleges because you don’t know whether or not you can keep the person,” Trump said.

 

According to Trump, many high-performing graduates are forced to leave despite strong academic records.

 

“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, adding that students are often “thrown” out after finishing their studies.

 

How the Gold Card is meant to work

 

Trump said the Gold Card would offer companies more certainty than existing green card routes, which he described as difficult to access.

 

He said employers could recruit directly from leading institutions such as Wharton, Harvard, MIT and New York University’s Stern School of Business.

 

“You’re able to buy a card and keep that person in the United States. So there’s certainty,” Trump said.

 

Describing the programme, he said, “It’s a Green Card, but much better, much more powerful, a much stronger path. Have to be great people, but much stronger path, which also helps companies.”

 

Trump gave an example involving IBM hiring a top Wharton graduate. “If IBM wants to hire somebody at the top of the class and can’t guarantee that person stays, they can buy the Gold Card, and that employee can be there for essentially a very long period of time,” he said.

 

“It’s so needed for the companies. It’s basically a much better form of green card. And you can’t get green cards. They are impossible to get. This is much better than a green card,” Trump added.

 

Trump supporters push to end OPT for foreign graduates

 

Trump’s comments come as some of his supporters push for tougher rules on international students already in the US.

 

Last month, Senator Jim Banks wrote to Trump adviser Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, calling for the abolition of the Optional Practical Training, or OPT, programme.

 

OPT allows foreign graduates to work in the US for up to one year after completing their studies. Students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics are eligible for an additional 24 months under the STEM OPT extension.

 

“OPT authorises international students to work in the United States for up to one year after graduation for each degree they receive from an institution of higher education. STEM graduates are authorised to work in the US for up to three years,” Banks wrote.

 

“The programme is not authorised by Congress. It was established and has been maintained entirely by Deep State bureaucrats,” the letter said.

 

Banks argued that the scale of OPT rivals other work visa programmes.

 

“Nearly 500,000 foreign workers hold OPT status and most of them work in STEM fields. There are nearly as many OPT holders as there are H-1B holders, yet OPT lacks even the minimal safeguards of the H-1B programme,” he wrote.

 

More limits on student visas under discussion

 

The Trump administration is also considering further changes affecting international students.

 

Officials have discussed replacing the current “duration of status” system for F, J and I visa holders with fixed time limits. Under the proposal, F-1 students would be required to leave the US within 60 days of completing their studies unless they move to another visa category, such as H-1B or O.