My understanding was that you needed $5 to "get in," but as noted, this
was often waived.

When my grandfather Simon arrived in 1904, he had nothing - but his
brother Philip had $5. Philip was deported due to medical problems
(trachea), so, he, apparently gave his $5 to his brother. Still, my
grandfather was "held over" for a day until his brother Nathan hustled
down there to "vouch" for him, and get him Admitted. He was
"Discharged" by Inspector "V.P." at 12:37 PM the next day, but not after
paying $1 for the lunch provided by the immigration authorities. He
skipped breakfast. (I must take after him, since I've never eaten
breakfast either!)

Member Tower commented that there was a lot of profit for a "one-way
voyage." Of course, it wasn't "one-way", and whatever profit accrued
would have to be divided in half. The ship had to return to Europe for
it's next "load", and the back haul would be at a very low load-factor,
maybe nearly empty, compared to the Westbound voyage, and with likely
similar operating costs.

Bob Bogash
Hansville, Washington, USA