Gold card visa opens doors for US firms to employ Indian graduates, says President Trump
Washington DC: US President Donald Trump has announced in the backdrop of his new ‘gold card’ visa offer that American companies can use the initiative to hire Indians who graduate from US universities.
President Trump had offered ‘gold card’ visas for $5 million, in place of the old visas, to help the immigrants get US citizenship. Driven by Trump’s mindset of everything being a business, the initiative is set to come into force by April, with around 10 million card visas likely to be offered in the initial phase.
It would also replace the current EB-5 visa program that gives residency to investors for at least $1 million for business houses that have 10 or more employees.
The new announcement is considered to be a boost for Indian students, with the President highlighting on how the current immigration policy had prevented people from all over the world, particularly India, from staying and working in the US. He said that the immigrants study at various universities in the US and apply for jobs, but their applications are rejected as the employer had no clue about the eligibility of the applicant to stay in the US.
When asked about the consequences of the new policy, Trump admitted that talented people who had studied in the US earlier had been forced to leave the country but had become successful entrepreneurs in their native countries. "They go back to India, or they go back to the country where they came from, and they open up a company, and they become billionaires. They're employing thousands of people," he said. He also stressed on the fact that the US missed the economic opportunity of utilizing such talent.
The President has presented his new gold card initiative as a positive alternative to the current green card, stating that the gold card would provide long-term residency and a pathway to citizenship. Calling the gold card program a game changer, Trump said about the card-holders, "They'll be wealthy, and they'll be successful, and they'll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people, and we think it's going to be extremely successful."
The initiative is also considered as a benefit for the US as it would be a means to generate revenue. "If we sell a million (cards), that's USD 5 trillion dollars," Trump said and added that the revenue could be used to pay off national debt.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
PM Modi to flag off Meerut Metro, Namo Bharat train on Feb 22
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday will visit Meerut and flag off the Meerut Metro and Namo Bharat train at Shatabdi Nagar Namo Bharat station in the western Uttar Pradesh town.
From there, the prime minister will undertake a metro ride till Meerut South station and at around 1 pm, he will inaugurate and dedicate to the nation various development projects worth around Rs 12,930 crore in Meerut.
Modi will also address the gathering on the occasion, said a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office.
The prime minister will dedicate to the nation the entire 82 Km Delhi–Meerut Namo Bharat corridor. He will inaugurate the remaining sections of India's first Namo Bharat Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), which include the 5 km section between Sarai Kale Khan and New Ashok Nagar in Delhi and the 21 km section between Meerut South and Modipuram in Uttar Pradesh.
ALSO READ: Brahmapur railway station in Odisha to be redeveloped at Rs 93.19cr
With a design speed of 180 km per hour, Namo Bharat is India's first regional rapid transit system. It will connect major urban centres such as Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Modinagar and Meerut with Delhi at a faster pace, the statement said.
The Sarai Kale Khan, the originating station of the corridor, is one of the four Namo Bharat stations to be commissioned with this inauguration.
It is strategically located as a major multi-modal hub, seamlessly connecting Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station, Delhi Metro's pink line, Veer Haqeeqat Rai ISBT, and the ring road. The other three Namo Bharat stations, Shatabdi Nagar, Begumpul and Modipuram, being commissioned are in Meerut.
The prime minister will also inaugurate the Meerut Metro services between Meerut South and Modipuram, operating on the same infrastructure as Namo Bharat, in a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country.
The Meerut Metro will be India's fastest metro system with a maximum operational speed of around 120 kmph. The metro will cover the entire stretch in just 30 minutes, with all scheduled stoppages en route.
This seamless integration of Namo Bharat and Meerut Metro on the same infrastructure will ensure high-speed intercity travel and swift intra-city movement, setting a benchmark for integrated urban and regional transit in India. It will decongest road traffic and consequently lead to a significant reduction in vehicular carbon dioxide emissions.
These projects will provide further impetus to the prime minister's vision of transforming urban mobility and ensuring seamless, efficient, modern and sustainable public transport systems that improve ease of living for citizens, the statement said.
