The United States is a nation of immigrants, but since its earliest years the United States has had a strict immigration policy against certain categories of people called undesirable aliens.

The first legislative act aimed at non-admission of people with criminal backgrounds and prostitutes to the country was adopted back in 1875. In 1903 the circle of persons undesirable for entry into the country was considerably extended. This act prohibited entry into the United States for persons suffering from epilepsy, tuberculosis, beggars, suspected prostitutes, anarchists, and all aliens “spreading beliefs that the government of the United States or the government of any other state may be overthrown by violent means.” This law, for the first time in the history of the United States, authorized the forcible deportation of persons who entered the United States illegally and, in order to discourage illegal immigration, authorized U.S. officers to inspect steamships bound for the United States while they were still in European ports. Later, members of communist and totalitarian parties, active participants in fascist, Hitler or other dictatorial regimes, war criminals and Nazi collaborators were included among the undesirable aliens.

At present, especially after the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the restrictions and ban on entry into the USA are aimed at countering the activities of Muslim terrorist organizations and Islamic fundamentalist groups which pose a direct threat to the national security of the USA.

US immigration law contains a broad list of grounds for prohibiting entry into the US, which can be roughly divided into 10 categories.

  1. Grounds of medical nature

The grounds for prohibiting an alien from entering the United States are if the alien has the following dangerous communicable diseases, mental or physical conditions, which may pose a threat to society or to the alien himself:

  • Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
  • Tuberculosis (infectious state)
  • Leprosy
  • Syphilis (infectious state)
  • Chancroid
  • Gonorrhea
  • Granuloma inguinale
  • Lymphogranuloma

In addition, individuals who are or have a history of alcohol and drug addiction and mental and/or physical disorders that pose a threat to society are not eligible for admission to the United States.

  1. Grounds related to the applicant’s criminal activity

U.S. immigration policy is designed to discourage the entry of aliens who are guilty of serious crimes. These include aggravated murder, rape, child sexual assault, violent assault, and trafficking in drugs, weapons or persons. If you have ever been convicted of these offenses or attempted to commit them, you are subject to a lifetime ban on entry into the United States, which is irrevocable.
Aliens convicted of two or more felonies with cumulative sentences of five years or more are also barred from entering the United States. However, the seriousness of the crime is irrelevant to the denial of a visa.
The commission of a minor offense for which the penalty is more than one year can also be grounds to deny a visa, if such offense was committed in the five years preceding the application for a visa.
Persons guilty of felonies committed in the United States but who have not been criminally responsible for their diplomatic immunity are also ineligible for entry.

  1. Committing forgery or providing knowingly false information

U.S. immigration law treats each alien applying for a U.S. visa as a potential immigrant. In order to get a visa, the applicant must prove that the visit is short-term and that he or she will return home at the end of it. For this purpose, some applicants indicate data that does not correspond to reality, for example, in the column “marital status” write “married” instead of “single”, indicate children who do not exist, provide false documents on the ownership of real estate, etc. If such facts are revealed, the applicant’s right to enter the U.S. is permanently revoked.

  1. Applicant’s activities contrary to the national security interests of the United States

The grounds for this category include the following:

  • Participation in or aiding and abetting the activities of terrorist organizations;
  • Membership in totalitarian or Nazi organizations;
  • Intent to commit acts that could have undesirable foreign policy consequences for the United States;
  • espionage, sabotage, collecting information constituting a U.S. state secret for the purpose of transferring or conveying such information to a foreign state, organization (or their representatives);
  • desertion from the U.S. Armed Forces/autonomous abandonment of a combat scene;
  • Abandoning U.S. citizenship in order to avoid paying taxes.
  1. Failure to meet the moral standards of American society

This category includes committing the following acts:

  • Promoting polygamy and/or being in more than one marriage;
  • Engaging in prostitution within the previous ten years or engaging others in prostitution.


However, a person does not need to have been convicted of such acts in order to be denied a visa – a voluntary confession is sufficient.

  1. Unlawful presence or violation of U.S. immigration regulations

Illegal stay in the U.S. is when a person stays in the U.S. on a fraudulent immigration document (visa) or on an expired document. A person who has been illegally present in the U.S. for six months to one year loses his or her right to enter the country for a period of three years. If an alien has been unlawfully present for more than one year, he or she is subject to a 10-year ban on entry into the United States.
Any activity contrary to the conditions of an issued visa, such as working without special permission from Citizenship and Immigration Services, overstaying, etc., is considered an immigration violation.

  1. Past deportation of a person

An alien who has been deported or removed from the country by order of an immigration court is ineligible to reenter the United States for five years. In the case of repeated deportation/expulsion, this period increases to 20 years. An indefinite ban on entry into the United States is imposed on individuals who have committed serious crimes in the United States, as well as those deported from the United States due to illegal stay in the country for more than one year and then attempted to enter the country illegally.

  1. Grounds related to a person’s financial situation

U.S. immigration law places the burden on the applicant to prove his or her nonimmigrant intentions. A low income causes the consular officer to suspect, often well-foundedly, that such an applicant is applying for a visa for the purpose of performing illegal employment activities in the United States. The decision to deny a visa is also made if the person may become a “burden on society,” i.e., he or she will apply for social security benefits and payments upon arrival in the United States.

  1. Illegal entry into the United States

This category includes any action to illegally enter the U.S. or to assist a third party to do so, such as entering the U.S. in a sham marriage. This category includes any intentional act to manufacture and obtain documents for illegal entry, as well as the use of fraudulent or alien documents and intermediary services intended to mislead immigration authorities and law enforcement agencies in the United States.

  1. Existence of information defamatory of the applicant

The established practice of U.S. embassies and consular services is based on a de facto presumption of guilt of the applicant. Thus, any information defamatory to the applicant, including information received from unofficial sources, such as former spouses or business partners, can be grounds for a negative decision to issue a visa. In these cases, overcoming the visa ban will require proving that the information is false and removing the applicant’s name from the “blacklist.

Authorization to enter the United States. Exceptionally, however, U.S. immigration law allows the issuance of an entry visa to persons who would not normally be allowed to enter the United States. This permission is called a Waiver. Applicants for any visa category, including immigrant visas, may apply for this permit. However, in order for such a person to be allowed to enter the United States, it must be shown that the circumstances for which they are applying for a visa are truly exceptional.