AdvertisementLo Mein Loophole: How U.S. Immigration Law Fueled A Chinese Restaurant BoomFebruary 22, 2016Maria GodoyfacebookEmailChefs at work in the kitchen of a restaurant in New York's Chinatown, circa 1940. For many Chinese, opening up restaurants became a way to bypass U.S. immigration laws designed to keep them out of the country. (International Center of Photography/Getty Images)