US announces ‘Trump Gold Card’ to hire qualified foreign youth; here’s how much it will cost
Washington (The Uttam Hindu): Foreign students in the US, including those from India, will no longer be forced to leave the country after completing their studies. American companies will now be able to hire top graduates from universities more easily. To support this, President Donald Trump has launched a new program called the “Trump Gold Card,” which allows companies to retain highly qualified graduates from US universities.
This program is mainly designed to help top-ranked foreign students especially Indian students stay in the US after graduation. Explaining the purpose, Trump said that even if someone graduates as the number one student in their college, there is no guarantee they can stay in the country. He said students from India, China, France, and many others often have to return home, which he believes is unfair. The new system will give companies stability and predictability and will especially benefit students with strong skills in science, technology, and engineering by removing years of immigration hurdles.
Trump said the policy change came after discussions with tech leaders, especially Apple CEO Tim Cook, who called the issue a major problem. Sharing program details, Howard Lutnick said the Gold Card can be obtained in two ways:
For an individual applicant: $1 million
For a company: $2 million
With this, a company can keep a chosen foreign employee in the US for a longer period. Lutnick added that applicants will go through a strict government vetting process costing $15,000. Once approved, the employee will have a path to citizenship within five years. After that, the company can rotate the same card to another employee, making it similar to a rotating residency permit.
He described the program as a “gift to America,” adding that it will strengthen the country in the global talent race. Trump said the program will also bring significant revenue to the US government—possibly billions of dollars. Earlier, due to visa uncertainty, companies often sent employees to countries like Canada, but Trump said this problem has now been solved.
A roundtable discussion on the program included Michael Dell (Dell Technologies), Arvind Krishna (IBM), Cristiano Amon (Qualcomm), and top executives from HP and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. The administration presented the meeting as an effort to improve immigration policies, strengthen technological investment, and boost the US workforce. Trump praised American companies for investments in AI and chip manufacturing, stating that the US aims to dominate global technology.
Michael Dell highlighted the high energy needs of the AI and semiconductor sectors, stressing the importance of affordable electricity. IBM’s Arvind Krishna spoke about strengthening the complete AI stack, including semiconductors, software, systems, and applications.
The Gold Card program is considered the biggest immigration reform in the past decade for Indian students and highly skilled Indian professionals. Indian students are the second-largest foreign student group in the US and form the largest share of H-1B visa holders. Therefore, the new program is expected to make a major impact on the Indian tech and AI workforce.
For years, several US administrations failed to bring employment-based immigration reforms due to Congress deadlock and visa quota limits. Companies and foreign professionals have struggled with visa lotteries and uncertainty. Trump’s Gold Card program is seen as a significant step to address these issues and strengthen America’s position as a global talent hub.