Your inmate receives a physical printed letter, not a digital message. That hard copy gets handed to them directly by staff after the mailroom opens and inspects it, which is standard procedure for all incoming mail at every correctional facility.
On timing, the typical window is 2 to 3 business days from when InmateAid processes and sends the letter to when your inmate has it in their hands. That is faster than most people expect and reflects the fact that InmateAid mails from Florida or California, depending on the facility location, keeping transit time short.
Letters ordered before 5 pm Eastern time go out the same day. Orders placed after that cutoff process the following business day. Factor that in if timing is important for something specific you are sending.
The physical letter matters more than people sometimes realize. It is something your inmate can hold, read more than once, and keep. In an environment where personal property is minimal and days feel identical, a letter sitting in someone's locker that they can return to is genuinely meaningful. It is not the same as a message that disappears into a feed or a screen. It is tangible, and that tangibility counts for something inside.