Trump Says It's "A Shame" Brilliant Indian Students Get Kicked Out After Finishing Their US Degrees

 

Trump Says It's "A Shame" Brilliant Indian Students Get Kicked Out After Finishing Their US Degrees

Right, here's what's going on. On 11 December 2025, US President Donald Trump spoke at the White House and said it's absolutely ridiculous that talented students from India – as well as China, France, and other countries – have to pack up and leave America after they finish their degrees at top universities. He was sitting with big names like Arvind Krishna from IBM (who's Indian-American) and Michael Dell from Dell, announcing his new "Trump Gold Card" visa scheme. The whole point is to keep these bright people in the US instead of losing them to other countries.

What Did Trump Actually Say?

Trump was at a meeting going on about how mental the current system is. "They graduate from college, 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 wherever they came from. Very hard to stay. It's a shame. It's a ridiculous thing. We're taking care of that," he said, according to Business Standard and The Economic Times. He talked about how the best students – top of their class at places like Harvard, MIT, or Wharton – get "thrown" out even though they're brilliant. Trump said American companies are frustrated because they can't be sure these graduates will be able to stay, and he's heard this directly from people like Apple's CEO Tim Cook.

This isn't Trump suddenly going easy on immigration – he's highlighting a problem that's been annoying American tech and business bosses for ages. He argued that the US spends loads of money educating these people, only to send them home – and then they go off and build successful companies elsewhere.

The Gold Card: Trump's Solution

So what's his answer? The Trump Gold Card, which was officially launched that day with a new website. It's a fancy visa route to residency and citizenship, but it's expensive – Trump calls it "merit-based." Individuals can pay $1 million (plus a $15,000 processing fee) to get fast-tracked, while companies can pay $2 million to sponsor a worker they want to keep – like those talented Indian graduates. Trump says it'll bring in "billions" for the US, which is much better than a regular green card.

The idea is to let companies hire people without the hassle of the visa lottery. Trump even joked it's like "buying" a visa for your best employee. It's meant to be a win-win: America keeps the talent, and the money helps the economy. But critics reckon it's just a pay-to-play system for rich people – not exactly helpful for your average student.

Why Does This Matter for Indian Students?

Indian students make up a huge portion of international students in the US – over 300,000 a year, according to recent figures, mostly studying science, tech, engineering, and maths. After graduating, they can usually work for one to three years on something called Optional Practical Training (OPT), but after that it's a gamble trying to get an H-1B visa. Trump's right that loads of them end up having to leave, which has actually helped India's tech scene grow (just look at all the startups in Bengaluru). But his Gold Card could help the high achievers, though that million-pound price tag means it won't work for everyone.

This ties into promises Trump made before the election. Back in June 2024, he suggested giving automatic green cards to all US graduates, from top universities to community colleges, complaining about how talented people end up going to India and becoming billionaires instead. Elon Musk also backed the idea of H-1B visas for skilled Indians. Now Trump's actually in power again, it looks like he's following through – though in his own style.

What Are People Saying?

Reactions have been all over the place. Indian-American executives like Krishna (who was there at the announcement) are pleased – it recognises the role Indians play in Silicon Valley. Indian news outlets like NDTV and Hindustan Times called it a potential breakthrough for keeping talent. On X (formerly Twitter), people like journalist Sidhant Sibal shared old clips of Trump's promises, and thousands liked the green card idea.

But not everyone's celebrating. Some X users, like @Sarfarosh_IND, made sarcastic jokes, "thanking" Trump for "sending back" Indian engineers to help *India's* economy instead – quite cheeky. Other critics, including Senator Jim Banks in a letter last month, want to scrap OPT completely, calling it a loophole. And let's face it, Trump's track record on immigration is all over the shop – from travel bans to border walls – so some people reckon this might not go anywhere if it doesn't suit his supporters.

So What's the Bottom Line?

At the end of the day, Trump's "shame" comment highlights a real problem: the US trains incredibly talented people from around the world, then loses them because of complicated visa rules. The Gold Card might help some of the elite students and workers, but we'll have to see if it actually happens or gets stuck in legal challenges. For Indian students hoping to work in America, it's a bit of good news in an otherwise uncertain situation. If nothing else, it's got everyone talking about fixing a system that's been a mess for years.