Angel Island Process

Immigration officials boarded ships arriving via the pacific in San Francisco to inspect the document of every passenger passengers were separated by nationality and class. Those who passed inspection went straight to customs and into the United State, there people were the first and second class passenger.
Over the course of hours or even days, the applicant would be asked about minute details only a genuine applicant would know about their family history, location of the village, their home.
The first stop on disembarking at the pier was the Administration Building where men were separated from women and children before undergoing the humiliating and embarrassing medical examinations.
The interrogation by the Board of Inquiry consisted of up to three hundred questions. The answers given to the questions were then compared to those provided by family members and friends to the same questions. Any small discrepancies resulted in exclusion and deportation.
When the Board of Inquiry completed its verification process the decision was made to allow the person entry into the United States or deportation.

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