Visa Journey, 100 Years Ago

[rakkaus 0]

(Inspired by a similar posting on Craigslist)

Selected headlines, just unearthed from the VJ archives...

I have a Complaint. Lines Too Long at Ellis Island.

Question: Has Anyone a Wife from Britain?

Paperwork is Abominable: Took almost Five Minutes to Complete.

New Technology Revolutionizes Meeting Women from the Old Country: "Telegram" Allows Instant Communication.

Do not marry Women from Ireland. They only Desire to Escape their Impoverished Homeland.

Our Visa is Described as "K1." May I go Overseas to marry my Sweetheart and then Return to America?

I have a Tattoo. Will my Petition be Denied?

Outraged at Visa Expense. Government requested Seventy-Five Cents! This is Tyranny.

Concern: Will "Barbary Pirates" cause Refusal of Near Eastern Aliens?

Met a Woman while on Vacation in "Hawaii." May she Immigrate to America? How I wish it were a State, to avoid this Senseless Hassle.

Agent at Ellis Island seemed Uninterested and Only gave my Wife Citizenship. Have I Cause for a Complaint?

"Give me your Tired, your Poor, your Huddled Masses": Government makes no Mention of Romance. Please sign my Petition.

I am New Here. Has anyone here Immigrated from a foreign Country?

Is Cursive Writing Permissible for my Application, or must I hire a Typist?

My Betrothed Wants to Marry on French Riviera. Her Visa is "K1." Will this Present a Problem?

Poorly Compensated at Carriage Factory but have Excellent Horse. Will the Government consider my Salary Adequate?

Sent Request to Government via Carrier Pigeon over two Weeks ago. No Response. Should I have Concern?

Edited September 19, 2007 by rakkaus

[almaty 19]

lol....

[deadbird 2]

LOL carrier pigeon. Niiiice.

[Jasman0717 9]

The times certainly have changed

[Ta Ta 1]

[eau_xplain 2]

Outraged at Visa Expense. Government requested Seventy-Five Cents! This is Tyranny.

100 years ago that would truly have been exhorbitant!

[*JG* 2]

Very clever. I love this!

[Sister Fracas 5]

LOL carrier pigeon. Niiiice.

what? isn't that STILL the way government documents are shipped about?

[~*Maria*~ 1]

LOL

[pedroh 21]

omg those italians, they should speak american!!

[BabyBlueSusie 1]

hillarious

[DeadPoolX 9]

I remember taking a Sociology class and we spent an entire section on immigrants, so we naturally covered those who came to the U.S. through Ellis Island. It was very educational, although most of the class couldn't care less. I don't suppose that's surprising, really. In my experiences, most Americans either dislike immigrants (having heard only negative things about them and automatically equating them to "illegal") or felt it didn't affect them one way or the other, so they didn't take notice. Hatred and apathy are wonderful things, aren't they folks?

Anyway... some of the stuff I remember is following:

1. Immigrants wouldn't always arrive where they intended to arrive. In other words, sometimes immigrants who wanted to come to the United States would find that their ship had docked in Britain or Canada. That's if they were "lucky." Other times they might have found themselves even further off-course. Oh, and by my previous usage of the word "lucky," I'm not intending to insult either the UK or Canada, but if you're expecting to arrive at a certain destination and you end up somewhere else, you're probably not going to be too happy.

2. Immigrants waiting on line at Ellis Island were inspected by officials and marked on their coats with blue chalk. Different markings and symbols indicated various things. Some of them could mean potential illnesses while others could mean the dreaded "LPC" label ("likely to become a public charge") which told Customs officers that the individual in question would have difficulty supporting themselves.

3. Families were often seperated somewhere along the way. During the process, parents and children would be taken from one another. This allowed officials to interrogate and inspect the children without parental interference. I highly doubt this would go over well today; it met with a lot of resistance back then too, but the parents were warned if they didn't comply, they would be shipped back to their home country.

4. Men and women were divided and medically inspected in groups. Considering the medical knowledge and technology of that era, it's a wonder they even knew what to look for at all. Mostly, they examined immigrants for obvious signs of contagious disease. Anything else would be too difficult to detect.

5. If a man or woman was marked with having some sort of "mental illness" or "retarded," they would be forced to undergo a psychological evaluation before being permitted into the United States. These tests were, for the most part, quite subjective and unfair as they were made by white, English-speaking Euro-centric Americans for white, English-speaking Euro-centric Americans. None of the examinations took into account different cultures, norms, values, languages, etc. So it wasn't unusual for someone to fail, not because they were psychologically disturbed or mentally deficient, but because they didn't understand the questions asked or thought differently than your average American at the time.

6. When finally getting to meet and speak with a Customs officer, the immigrant would be asked numerous questions. No surprise there. However, there was a "trick question" involved. If the immigrant was asked, "What do you lined up for work?" the immigrant was almost always screwed. If he said he had a job waiting for him in the U.S., he'd be denied since he would be "taking away a job from a hardworking American" but if he didn't have a job he would be unemployed and therefore be LPC or "likely to become a public charge."

7. If the immigrant managed to make it past all of the many obstacles in his path and was allowed into the U.S., there might still be one more problem. If he had a very ethnic-sounding surname, he was urged to change it in order to "fit in" to American society. Contrary to popular belief, Customs officers did not choose a new name for immigrants; that was the immigrants job. However, since the immigrant had to practically decide right then and there, they were under considerable pressure and had little time to work with. More often than not, they merely anglocized their surname or completely changed to the city/town or region that they had come from originally.

8. One last note -- women had a unique issue to deal with. Since it was considered "unsafe" and "improper" for a woman to be out alone on the streets without an escort after immigrating, she would be detained by Customs until someone could either pick her up or someone who worked there at Ellis Island could arrange some time to escort her where she needed to go. Regardless, she was not leaving by herself, which meant any single woman traveling alone was stuck even after she was cleared and accepted into the United States.

[Jenn! 918]

I remember taking a Sociology class and we spent an entire section on immigrants, so we naturally covered those who came to the U.S. through Ellis Island. It was very educational, although most of the class couldn't care less. I don't suppose that's surprising, really. In my experiences, most Americans either dislike immigrants (having heard only negative things about them and automatically equating them to "illegal") or felt it didn't affect them one way or the other, so they didn't take notice. Hatred and apathy are wonderful things, aren't they folks?

Anyway... some of the stuff I remember is following:

1. Immigrants wouldn't always arrive where they intended to arrive. In other words, sometimes immigrants who wanted to come to the United States would find that their ship had docked in Britain or Canada. That's if they were "lucky." Other times they might have found themselves even further off-course. Oh, and by my previous usage of the word "lucky," I'm not intending to insult either the UK or Canada, but if you're expecting to arrive at a certain destination and you end up somewhere else, you're probably not going to be too happy.

2. Immigrants waiting on line at Ellis Island were inspected by officials and marked on their coats with blue chalk. Different markings and symbols indicated various things. Some of them could mean potential illnesses while others could mean the dreaded "LPC" label ("likely to become a public charge") which told Customs officers that the individual in question would have difficulty supporting themselves.

3. Families were often seperated somewhere along the way. During the process, parents and children would be taken from one another. This allowed officials to interrogate and inspect the children without parental interference. I highly doubt this would go over well today; it met with a lot of resistance back then too, but the parents were warned if they didn't comply, they would be shipped back to their home country.

4. Men and women were divided and medically inspected in groups. Considering the medical knowledge and technology of that era, it's a wonder they even knew what to look for at all. Mostly, they examined immigrants for obvious signs of contagious disease. Anything else would be too difficult to detect.

5. If a man or woman was marked with having some sort of "mental illness" or "retarded," they would be forced to undergo a psychological evaluation before being permitted into the United States. These tests were, for the most part, quite subjective and unfair as they were made by white, English-speaking Euro-centric Americans for white, English-speaking Euro-centric Americans. None of the examinations took into account different cultures, norms, values, languages, etc. So it wasn't unusual for someone to fail, not because they were psychologically disturbed or mentally deficient, but because they didn't understand the questions asked or thought differently than your average American at the time.

6. When finally getting to meet and speak with a Customs officer, the immigrant would be asked numerous questions. No surprise there. However, there was a "trick question" involved. If the immigrant was asked, "What do you lined up for work?" the immigrant was almost always screwed. If he said he had a job waiting for him in the U.S., he'd be denied since he would be "taking away a job from a hardworking American" but if he didn't have a job he would be unemployed and therefore be LPC or "likely to become a public charge."

7. If the immigrant managed to make it past all of the many obstacles in his path and was allowed into the U.S., there might still be one more problem. If he had a very ethnic-sounding surname, he was urged to change it in order to "fit in" to American society. Contrary to popular belief, Customs officers did not choose a new name for immigrants; that was the immigrants job. However, since the immigrant had to practically decide right then and there, they were under considerable pressure and had little time to work with. More often than not, they merely anglocized their surname or completely changed to the city/town or region that they had come from originally.

8. One last note -- women had a unique issue to deal with. Since it was considered "unsafe" and "improper" for a woman to be out alone on the streets without an escort after immigrating, she would be detained by Customs until someone could either pick her up or someone who worked there at Ellis Island could arrange some time to escort her where she needed to go. Regardless, she was not leaving by herself, which meant any single woman traveling alone was stuck even after she was cleared and accepted into the United States.

I recently watched a film called "The Golden Door" (Nuovomundo) that told the story of Sicilian immigrants to the U.S. Many of these things that you mentioned were covered: the chalk, the physical and psychological tests, the procedure of "claiming" single women. Eugenics were in full force it seems - in the film they denied entry to an old woman who refused to complete the psychological tests on the basis that they were trying to "play God". Quite an interesting film, although the story was fictional, the portrayal of the immigration procedure was really fascinating.

[Mononoke28 135]

I remember taking a Sociology class and we spent an entire section on immigrants, so we naturally covered those who came to the U.S. through Ellis Island. It was very educational, although most of the class couldn't care less. I don't suppose that's surprising, really. In my experiences, most Americans either dislike immigrants (having heard only negative things about them and automatically equating them to "illegal") or felt it didn't affect them one way or the other, so they didn't take notice. Hatred and apathy are wonderful things, aren't they folks?

Love your post, very cool and informative. I wonder what people would say about our process 100 years from now. Very interesting...

[shining_angel 0]

i wonder how much will K1 application fee cost 100 years from now.