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.An area on the first floor of the building became known as the kissing post
.It got that nickname because it is where family and friends waited for their loved ones
.After months or years apart they kissed and hugged and shouted with joy and relief
.For the immigrants the long journey was finally over they were in America.

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.After the medical and legal inspections immigrants arrived at the top of another staircase
.The staircase had three aisles immigrants who were being detained were brought down the center aisle
.People who were traveling west or south walked down the right side of the staircase. .Those going to New York City or to the north walked down the left side
.At the bottom of the stairs was a post office
.Also an office to exchange money from their home country for U.S. dollars

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.Legal detainees lived in a dormitory room on the third floor
.They waited a few days or even a month
.Then their case would be reviewed
.People who were detained for medical reasons were cared for at the island's hospital or kept in quarantine
.Board of Special Inquiry would review an individual's medical report and decide whether to allow him into the United States or to send them back

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.Arriving steamship's crew gave officials at Ellis Island a list of names of the passengers onboard
.Passengers were called forward to speak with a uniformed inspector
.Interpreters helped the immigrants communicate
.29 questions were asked of every immigrant
.An immigrant could be detained for further inquiry if his or her answers differed from the answers listed on the manifest

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.Doctors developed a system to identify immigrants who needed medical attention
.Doctor looked for any signs of illness or contagious diseases
.If someone was considered a risk to the public health his or her clothes were marked by a piece of chalk
.Immigrants who were marked were taken out of the line and kept for further examination

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.Nicknamed the great hall because it is so big
.Room is 200 feet long and 102 feet wide
.Officials in the great hall decided whether each person could enter the country right away or whether that person's case required further review
.Immigrants were checked for trachoma a contagious eye disease
.Doctors used a tool called a buttonhook to lift a person's eyelid to look for the disease
.People with trachoma were often sent back to their home countries

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.The immigration process began on the stairs
.Doctors stood on the second floor and watched each person
.They looked for people who had trouble walking or breathing or showed signs of other health problems

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.Officers passed out numbered identity tags
.People who did not speak English were often unsure of what the officers were saying
.Immigrants entered the Baggage Room on the building's ground floor
.They left their precious belongings here until their inspection was done

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.Ships were crowded and dirty
.One of the first things they saw was the Statue of Liberty
.Health officers would board the ship in the harbor and look for signs of diseases
.Doctors then would check the health of first and second class passengers on the ship these lucky few were processed quickly and could leave the ship when it docked at New York City

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.Most of the immigrants who came to America through Ellis Island were from eastern and southern Europe
.Came to escape the poverty and religious intolerance
.Trip across the Atlantic Ocean lasted one to two weeks
.Ships divided passengers by wealth and class