Why is Trump Forcing People to Immigrate to the United States Against Their Will?

Posted on May 12, 2026

It doesn’t make sense. Why is the anti-immigrant President forcing people who just want to visit the US to immigrate?  This is one of the bizarre consequences of draconian visa policies and the “visa is a privilege, not a right” mantra regularly voiced by Secretary of State Rubio. Consular officers at embassies and consulates around the world have weaponized Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to deny B1/B2 visitor visas for any reason under the sun: a perceived lack of ties, nationality, interview deficiencies, having a relative in the US, questions about plans in the US. As can be seen in our recently-published update to our article on 214(b), by our count, there are more than 40 different reasons – many of them pretexts and outright bogus - consuls are denying nonimmigrant visa applicants.  And because 214(b) does not apply to immigrant visa cases and there is limited discretion for consuls to deny immigrant visas, it is unlikely that the consul will be able to refuse legitimate immigrant visa applications from those same individuals.

Here’s the kicker: many of the denied visitor visa applicants do not want to immigrate and in fact have reliable means to immigrate. For example, a businessman can qualify to immigrate through the EB-1C (multinational executive) or EB-5 (investor) categories. The spouse of an American citizen can immigrate through his spouse relatively quickly via the IR-1 or CR-1 categories.  The same for the parent of an adult US citizen: she can immigrate through her child in the IR-5 category in 1-2 years usually. But these individuals have made conscious decisions not to immigrate. Why? Because they do not want to. They have lives in their home countries; maybe they have a successful business, or elderly parents to attend to, or a well-paying job. Their friends and family may be in the home country. Maybe they do not know English. The US may be too expensive; the taxes may be too high; guns and crime too prevalent. The home country may offer free, quality health care.  They have a comfortable life in the home country. The list goes on why people do not want to immigrate to the United States. 

To be clear, this is not about those who may have violated the terms of their previously-held B1/B2 visitor visas and are rightfully refused visitor visas. This is about those who just want to visit for a limited period of time and engage in legitimate tourist, health-related, and/or business activity – to see their children, grandchildren, brothers or sisters; to travel to the Grand Canyon, Disneyworld, Cape Canaveral, or the Empire State Building; to attend a conference or exhibition; to meet their business partners; to attend a soccer game; to be by the side of a dying relative; or to get medical treatment they can afford.

But by denying these individuals visitor visas, Trump and the consuls are in effect telling them to go through the I-130, I-140, or I-526E immigration processes – just to be able to visit!  I have been doing this for thirty years and this is one of the most bizarre phenomena that I have seen.  When will common sense prevail?  If you have been subject to one of these strange visitor visa refusals, please feel free to contact us to discuss your situation.