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Donald Trump on 'gold card' visa: ‘US companies can now hire Indians under new citizenship plan’
Donald Trump, during his first Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, said he hoped the gold cards would “sell like crazy”.
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. The move, seen as a significant boost for Indian students, follows Donald Trump's unveiling of the ‘gold card’ on Wednesday—a pathway to US citizenship for wealthy foreign investors willing to invest $5 million.
Donald Trump, during his first Cabinet meeting, said he hoped the gold cards would “sell like crazy”.
"A person comes from India, China, Japan – lots of different places and they go to Harvard, the Wharton School of Finance, they go to Yale they go to all great schools, and they graduate number one in their class, and they made job offers, but the offers immediately rescinded because you have no idea whether or not that person can stay in the country," news agency ANI quoted Donald Trump as saying.
Also Read | What is Trump's ‘Gold Card’ for immigrants? All about the $5 million ‘pathway to US citizenship’
To tackle the issue, the US president came up with the gold card system. Trump said that a company can buy a gold card and use it for this recruitment matter.
"I want to be able to have that person stay in the country, these companies can go and buy a gold card, and they can use it as a matter of recruitment. At the same time, the company is using that money to pay down debt we are going to we are going to pay down a lot of debt with that, and I think the gold card is going to be used not only for that. I mean, they will be used by companies," Trump said.
When he was asked about the gold card plan, Trump jokingly remarked, "I hope you liked it."
Also Read | Donald Trump’s $5 million 'gold card' visa: What it does mean for Indian nationals?
The US president added that the immigration system has not been properly monetised or run. He also lamented the plight of companies who want to hire non-American students but do not go forward with it as uncertainty looms over their immigration status.
Trump added that if a business is in the US, it does not have to pay any tariffs, and those operating outside would have to pay those.
"If you are in the country, there is no tariff. If you're out of the country you got to pay tariffs and that's going to be a great investment I think that he's making I know it's going to be a great investment but we have to be able to get people in the country," he said.
Trump said he wanted "productive" people in the US, and those USD 5 million would create jobs and pay off the US debt.
