In reference to his paycheck, Giuseppe Freda is quoted as saying, "My God... this is more than even my professors got in Italy."

It became clear that immigration was the only sensible course of action for Italians who wanted to make a living wage. In 1880 the journey was not overly expensive; a steerage ticket for a trans-Atlantic steamship from Naples to New York City was just $15.00. Upon arrival at Ellis Island, most immigrants were inspected and cleared to immigrate. Others would first be quarantined or even deported if they appeared to have some disease.

After they were released into New York City, labor bosses (padrones) would help them find jobs and lodging. They worked as industrial laborers, longshoremen, and construction workers. Of course, not all Italians remained in New York City.

In California, Italians quickly became successful as food suppliers, merchants, and restaurateurs. The Fior d'Italia, established in 1886, is San Francisco's oldest Italian restaurant. Others went into professions such as fishing or garbage collection.

However, the agricultural ability of Italians quickly became evident, especially in the vineyards where they demonstrated their skills as winemakers. Even today Italians are involved in the wine industry and many Italian wineries are listed with the Consorzio Cal-Italia. Some went on to create orchards and worked as fruit suppliers for the west coast.

However, after their arrival in the United States, Italians did experience some discrimination. Mostly Southern Italians felt the discrimination, as they had darker skin than Northern Italians. In fact, many Northern-Italians of the era tried to distance themselves from Southern Italians, causing the U.S. Immigration Commission to keep separate records and classify them as different races. However, a considerable amount of discrimination was the result of newspapers blaming Italians for crimes. This led to lynching of Italians suspected of committing a crime.

Even today, Italian-Americans experience some discrimination. Many advertisements that depict Italian-Americans do so in a negative light; either by featuring mobsters committing acts of crime, or old and wrinkled women who dance while speaking with exaggerated Italian accents. Furthermore, 40% of movies with Italian characters portray them as members of organized crime. Sadly, the general public believes these stereotypes, as a survey performed by the Response Analysis Corporation showed that 74% of Americans believe that Italians have some connection to the mafia. However, organizations such as the Order Sons of Italy in America, the Italic Institute of America, and Fieri National have been campaigning against these stereotypes by asking companies and corporations to stop using them and to switch to depicting Italian-Americans in a positive light.