it took most immigrants two to five hours to pass through ellis island.
it took most immigrants two to five hours to pass through ellis island.
how long did it take most immigrants to pass through ellis island?
two to five hours
section::::immigration procedures.:primary inspection.:interviews.









































according to a reconstruction of immigration processes in 1907, immigrants who passed the initial inspections spent two to five hours at ellis island. arrivals were asked a couple dozen questions including name and occupation. the government even asked immigrants how much money they carried, to determine whether new arrivals would be self-sufficient upon arrival. the government wanted the immigrants to have, on average, between 18 and 25 dollars (worth between $ and $ as of ).
ellis island
immigration commissioner william williams made substantial changes to ellis island's operations, and during his tenure from 1902-1905 and 1909-1913, ellis island processed its peak number of immigrants. williams also made changes to the island's appearance, adding plants and grading paths upon the once-barren landscape of ellis island. under williams's supervision, a third island was built to accommodate a proposed contagious-diseases ward, separated from existing facilities by of water. island 3, as it was called, was located to the south of island 2 and separated from that island by a now-infilled ferry basin. the government bought the underwater area for island 3 from new jersey in 1904, and a contract was awarded in april 1905. the islands were all connected via a cribwalk on their western sides (later covered with wood canopy), giving ellis island an overall "e"-shape. upon the completion of island 3 in 1906, ellis island covered . a baggage and dormitory building was completed , and alterations were made to the registry building and dormitories as well, but even this was insufficient to accommodate the high volume of immigrants. in 1911, williams alleged that congress had allocated too little for improvements to ellis island, even though the improvement budget that year was $868,000.
ellis island