The colonial days are long gone.  Lots of things have changed since then.
The Chinese Exclusion Act was an act directed at one group of people--the Chinese.  The overall process isn't any more feasible or unfeasible for one person as it is for another.  If they don't have the means or there's a reason for them to be restricted, it's them, not the process.  I obviously should have pointed that out--just for you.
Feel better now?