Rabbi Avraham Bornsztain of Sochatchov (1838-1910) wrote that the oath only prohibits conquest, not mass immigration with permission from the ruling power:
According to what we have explained that the verse “I adjure you” applies to all lands and all exiles, we can give a satisfactory reason for why all the great people [throughout our history] did not move to Eretz Yisroel. And the Sage admitted [this fault] to the king of Kuzar, saying, “You have embarrassed me, king of Kuzar.” (Kuzari 2:24) Truly this is a great question: how could they all have transgressed a positive command? But according to what we have said that the oath is on all lands, and only individuals may go up since the oath is only that they should not all go up together, it is impossible that there should be an obligation on individuals to go up, for if so there would be an obligation on all of Israel, every individual separately, and this we cannot say, for to go all together would be “as a wall” which is forbidden. And if they would go they would be punished with the removal of divine providence, as mentioned. And if you say, let them go one at a time – who will go first and who second? On each one we should apply the rule “the zealous go early” and then everyone would go together! So you must admit that there is no obligation on any individual…
All the above applies only when one has no permission from the government to go up to Eretz Yisroel. But if he received permission to go up and live there, he is then obligated to do so, for now we cannot apply the rule that “if the whole people is not obligated, the individual is not obligated,” for if permission were granted for all of the Jewish people to go up, it would not be considered “going up as a wall.” For on the words “as a wall” Rashi explains, “with a strong hand.” Also, it could be said that if permission were granted for everyone, it would be considered a “pekudah” (divine signal that the exile had ended). But in that case, now that there is no pekudah, going up to Eretz Yisroel might be considered “something that in which the whole people are not obligated.” Then again it might be considered “something in which the whole people are obligated” (since if the current permission were to be extended to include all Jews, it would become a pekudah). In any case, it is clear that there is no obligation to go up, even with permission, unless one can live in a community of observant Jews, for if he cannot, then G-d forbid his loss would outweigh his gain. A community of observant Jews is very important to the fulfillment of the mitzvos in general and particularly the fulfillment of the mitzvos pertaining to Eretz Yisroel. (Avnei Nezer, Yoreh Deah, Siman 454 paragraphs 52 and 56)
I wrote in paragraph 56 that if permission were granted for all to go up, there would be no oath, for on the word “as a wall” Rashi explains “with a strong hand,” and with permission is not with a strong hand. You asked that in the book Ahavas Yonasan he writes that even with permission it is forbidden. But these are homiletical words, and a thousand like them cannot move the words of Rashi from their place. The Gaon Rabbi Yonasan Eibeshutz himself would not have ruled the halacha differently from Rashi.
When I wrote there that it might be a “pekudah,” my intent was that perhaps this is what Rashi meant. Because according to my first explanation of Rashi there is a problem: In the first chapter of Yuma (9b) it says, “If you had made yourselves like a wall and all come up in the time of Ezra…” and there “like a wall” clearly means with permission, as the immigration in Ezra’s time was with permission. Therefore I wrote that perhaps it would be considered a “pekudah”. In any case, no matter what Rashi means, the halacha is explicit in Rashi that with permission it is allowed. In your letter you omitted my proof from Rashi. Also, I wrote “perhaps it would be considered a pekudah,” but you omitted the word “perhaps”. On this distortion of my words you wrote your objections, and this is not proper. (Siman 456)
I Will Await Him 
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