After leaving prison, felons may want to visit someone who is currently incarcerated. This is a great way to offer support to a person going through what you have experienced.

The question is whether you will be allowed to make that visit. 

Can a felon visit someone in prison? Let’s look at this question.

In this blog post, we’ll cover the following:

• Important Factors
• Relationship to the Inmate
• Criminal Background
• Application
• Visitation 

Important Factors

Visiting someone in prison is a complex issue. Much goes into the process that is crucial to understand. 

We’ll consider these essential factors.

Each correctional facility establishes its own visitation policies, many of which you can see at Prison Insight. Visitation applications from felons are reviewed on a case-by-case basis to consider the safety of the facility in addition to the best interest of the inmate. 

When determining whether to grant or deny a visitation request from a convicted felon, correctional facilities consider many factors.

Occasionally, if you want to visit someone who is incarcerated at the same facility in which you served time, you may be denied visitation.  

It may also depend on the length of time since you were released from that location.  

Another factor is your behavior when you were there and whether your visit would be considered disruptive to the staff.

Relationship to the Inmate

First, the relationship between a felon and an inmate makes a difference. If you are a member of the immediate family of an inmate, your request to visit is more likely to be approved.  

Sometimes, a facility will not allow an inmate to have any visitation. This could be for a variety of reasons. 

An inmate who has been in a particular facility for only a short time could be denied any visitation. There could also be extenuating circumstances relating to an inmate’s behavior. However, if you are an immediate family member, they may make an exception.

Criminal Background

Basically, the facility will run a background check on you. Of course, this is easily done since the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) already has access to your entire criminal history.

The facility will look at your criminal history. If you have committed less serious or nonviolent crimes, you will more likely be approved.  

There is no precise list of felonies that might disqualify you from visiting an inmate. It will depend on the particular facility. Felons with more convictions or a longer criminal history will be examined more closely.

The length of time since the conviction is also important. The longer since the sentence was concluded, the better chance there is for approval. 

If possible, having your record expunged will facilitate your being approved. Having a job will also help.

In some states you are required to wait at least two years since your sentence ended before being allowed to visit someone in prison.

If you have charges currently pending against you, it will be more difficult to be approved.

If you are on probation, you likely will have a more difficult time being approved. This is because felons are not allowed to have contact with other felons while they are on probation.  

If you want to visit immediate family, permission can be granted while you are on probation as long as you have written permission from your probation officer.  

Application

The visitation application is different depending on the individual facility where the inmate is incarcerated.

As a potential visitor, you must seek approval to be included on an inmate’s visitation list. This application begins with your full name, address, and phone number.

Then, the application will request your background information. Especially important as a felon is you will be asked whether you have ever been convicted of a crime. Of course, you need to be honest, though the BOP already knows your criminal history.

There are certain reasons why anyone, regardless of whether you are a felon or not, could be denied approval for visitation.

Among the reasons for denial of visitation rights are whether you have recently served time in a correctional facility or are on probation. Also, if you are on bond, waiting for a court trial, or have an outstanding warrant you might be turned down.

They could possibly deny your application if the facility considers you a security risk for any reason.

Typically, there is a one- to six-week waiting period before approval is granted. The length of time for the approval depends on the facility, the depth of the background check, and the time of year.

The facility will notify the inmate whether the application has been approved. So, it will be important to keep in touch with the inmate for the results.

Visitation

In the past, the only types of visits were face to face. There are occasions and places in which visits can be done in other ways. You can have a visit by phone through a glass partition. Contact visits are the most common. Here you can sit together face to face.

While there is a lot involved in getting your visit approved, there is also much to deal with at the time of the visit. These are issues that you need to be prepared for.

First, is the dress code. Your manner of dress for a prison visitation is essential. Clothing needs to be carefully thought out. 

No clothes that are similar to an inmate’s clothing in color or style is permitted. Actually, no type of uniform is allowed as this could be a security risk.

The clothing style needs to be modest with no short dress or skirt. Sleeveless shirts or tops are also not permitted. Jewelry should not be worn.

Before being allowed to go in, expect to be searched and asked to leave all personal belongings at check-in. All of these are for security measures.

All visits are closely supervised in a public visitation area. Time limits are strictly adhered to.

While this may seem like a lot to go through, all of these issues are essential to having a successful visit. As a felon, especially, abiding by these guidelines is critical.

If you are a felon planning to visit someone who is in prison, work to make it a positive experience for the inmate as well as yourself.

Remember when you were in their position. You looked forward to a visit from a family member or friend with anticipation. In this way, you knew you were not forgotten. Research shows that inmates who receive visitors have a better chance at staying out or prison after being released.

Someone cared enough to take the time to apply for visitor status and made sure that they went through all of the steps to gain approval.

That inmate you are visiting has made mistakes just as you did. You are not defined by those mistakes, and they aren’t either.

Make this an event to be remembered. You and your inmate family member or friend will be glad you did.

So what do you think about this blog post about whether a felon can visit someone in prison? Have you or someone you know visited someone in prison after a felony conviction? What was that experience like and what happened? Please tell us in the comments below.