Ask The Inmate. Real answers from people who've been there.

InmateAid does provide discount phone service for inmates at USP Terre Haute in Indiana. If you have heard otherwise or had trouble getting it set up, we want to make sure you have accurate information so you can take advantage of the savings. Here is how it works. InmateAid provides you with a local phone number in the same rate center as USP Terre Haute. Your inmate dials that number through the facility's phone system instead of a long distance number,...

Yes, in most cases you can send a letter or message written in Arabic to an inmate housed at a United States Penitentiary (USP), including federal prisons operated by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). However, there are a few important things to understand before sending foreign-language correspondence. All inmate mail entering a USP facility is screened and monitored by prison staff for safety and security reasons. When a letter is written in a language other than English, including Arabic, the mailroom...

A transfer does not automatically carry your approved visitor status to the new facility. This is one of the more frustrating administrative realities families deal with and it can mean starting the approval process over from scratch. In the federal system, visitor approvals are generally tied to the inmate's central file and can sometimes transfer with them, but you should always confirm with the new facility rather than assuming. In state systems the rules vary significantly. Some states have centralized visitor...

Unfortunately yes, and it is one of the more frustrating practices in the prison phone industry. GTL and ConnectNetwork have broad authority over accounts on their platform and can place holds or blocks on accounts when a chargeback or disputed transaction is flagged, even if the dispute was legitimate and reasonable. The fact that they blocked every number on the account rather than just addressing the disputed line is an aggressive response, but it is within their standard policy framework. The...

Eleven cents per minute is already a low rate, and the honest answer is that even if InmateAid could shave something off that number, the savings would likely not cover the monthly line rental fee. Here is the math. InmateAid's phone line runs $19.95 per month. To break even on that cost at $0.11 per minute, you would need to save at least $19.95 in per-minute reductions each month. If the best available rate at your facility is, say, $0.06 per...

For a first federal offense involving smuggling of undocumented immigrants, the sentencing range typically falls between two and five years depending on the specific circumstances of the case. San Diego is one of the busiest federal districts in the country for immigration-related prosecutions, and the judges and prosecutors there handle these cases routinely. Several factors shape where within that range the sentence lands. The number of people being smuggled matters. So does whether anyone was endangered, injured, or placed in dangerous...

Commissary schedules vary by facility and there is no universal answer, but understanding how the system works helps you time your deposits effectively. Most jails and prisons run commissary on a weekly or biweekly cycle. Each housing unit is typically assigned a specific commissary day, meaning inmates in that unit can place their orders and pick up their items on a rotating schedule. Some facilities run commissary once a week for the entire population. Others stagger it by unit across multiple...

Port Isabel Service Processing Center in Los Fresnos, Texas is an ICE detention facility operated by the federal government. Sending money to a detainee there works differently than at a standard jail or prison. ICE detention facilities use a separate financial system from the Bureau of Prisons. The primary way to deposit funds for a detainee at Port Isabel is through Western Union's Quick Collect service, which allows deposits to be made online, through the app, or at physical Western Union...

Transfers happen for several reasons and understanding which applies to your loved one requires knowing a few details about where they came from and where they went. The most common and most positive reason is a custody level reduction. As inmates serve their sentence without major infractions, their security classification is periodically reviewed and often reduced. A lower classification results in a transfer to a facility that matches their new risk level. Moving from a medium or high-security facility to a...

Money cannot be loaded onto a prepaid card directly by the inmate from inside. Funds must be added from the outside — by a family member or friend — using an approved money transfer service such as JPay, Access Corrections, or MoneyGram, depending on the facility. Inmates can also earn money through prison work assignments, however the wages are extremely low — typically between $0.12 and $0.40 per hour at the federal level, and even less in some state systems. It...