‘Harmful Move’: LinkedIn, Coursera Founders Warn Trump Admin’s Green Card Rule Can Hurt US Innovation

Last Updated:May 26, 2026, 16:17 IST

After the initiation of the new immigration policy by the US, companies such as LinkedIn, Coursera and YCombinator founders warn of harm to tech, AI talent and US competitiveness.

The new immigration policy announced by the Trump administration has triggered anxiety in the US IT sector, with founders of LinkedIn and Coursera calling the move “harmful move for tech, business, and America".

As per the Associated Press, the Trump administration has announced that many foreigners already living legally in the US would now need to leave the country and apply for permanent residency from their home country instead of completing the process from within America.

Criticising the move, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman took to X to question, “Does this mean AI Researchers, employees, and students will now have to leave the country and wait through a backlog process to continue their work?"

He said it was a “harmful move for tech, business, and America broadly…"

Co-founder of Coursera, Andrew Ng also slammed the Trump administration’s move and said in a post on X: “The new White House policy requiring green card applicants to apply from outside the US is a capricious attack on legal immigration. It will hurt families, leave us with fewer doctors, teachers and scientists, and hurt American competitiveness in AI."

CEO of YCombinator Garry Tan also slammed the government while pointing out the “need to keep smart people in the country to build the future and build tomorrow’s businesses that employ millions of people. “This is bad and misguided policy," he added.

The USCIS memo, released last week, reiterates that obtaining permanent residency from within the United States is a “discretionary benefit" and not an automatic entitlement.

“Nonimmigrants, like students, temporary workers, or people on tourist visas, come to the US for a short time and for a specific purpose. Our system is designed for them to leave when their visit is over. Their visit should not function as the first step in the Green Card process," USCIS said in a statement, according to an Associated Press report.

While the policy does not directly amend immigration law, experts and immigration advocates say it signals a tougher approach towards foreign nationals seeking long-term residency after entering the US on temporary visas.

“The broader message the US is sending right now is that immigration pathways are getting tougher and tougher. You’ve already had tighter OPT and STEM OPT scrutiny, uncertainty around the H-1B lottery, and now this," Mayank Kumar, co-founder and former managing director of upGrad, was quoted as saying by Moneycontrol.

News world ‘Harmful Move’: LinkedIn, Coursera Founders Warn Trump Admin’s Green Card Rule Can Hurt US Innovation

Read More