Former President Donald Trump has announced a significant shift in his immigration policy, particularly concerning foreign students graduating from U.S. colleges. Ahead of the November 2024 elections, Trump pledged to grant automatic Green Cards to these graduates, especially those in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. This move is intended to prevent talented students from returning to their home countries, such as India and China, where they often become successful entrepreneurs and billionaires.
This change marks a departure from Trump’s previous policies, which included strict restrictions on green cards, visa programs, refugee resettlement, and other forms of legal immigration. During his presidency, Trump criticized the H-1B visa program, which is widely used by tech companies to hire foreign skilled workers, and enacted measures to limit it, arguing that it was necessary to protect American jobs and prosperity.
In a recent podcast hosted by venture capitalists Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks, and David Friedberg, Trump emphasized the importance of retaining top talent graduating from U.S. institutions. He noted that many brilliant students, unable to secure legal status in the U.S., return to their home countries to establish successful companies, which could have been beneficial to the American economy. Trump’s new proposal aims to ensure these graduates can stay and contribute to the U.S. immediately upon graduation.
Trump expressed regret that during his first term, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic hindered his ability to implement this policy. He emphasized the loss of talent from prestigious institutions like Harvard and MIT, as well as other excellent schools, as a significant issue that he aims to address.
This policy shift comes at a time when the number of international students, particularly from India, seeking education in the U.S. is on the rise. In 2023, the U.S. issued over 140,000 visas to Indian students, with expectations of even higher numbers in 2024. To accommodate this surge, the U.S. embassy in India has started student visa interviews earlier than usual.
Trump reiterated his belief in a merit-based immigration system and stressed the need to recruit and retain the brightest minds from U.S. colleges to foster innovation and economic growth domestically. By offering automatic Green Cards to graduates, he hopes to ensure that these talented individuals can stay in the U.S., start businesses, and create jobs, rather than contributing to the economies of other countries.
Overall, Trump’s new stance on immigration seeks to address the competitive global talent landscape, aiming to keep the best and brightest in the U.S. to bolster the nation’s innovation and economic prosperity.
