Understanding Allred Unit's Visiting Hours and the One-Visit-Per-Week Rule
Planning a visit at the James W. Allred Unit gets a lot simpler once you know two things: visits happen on weekends, and most people in custody are limited to one visit per cycle (usually a week). Here's how those rules work so you can pick the right day and avoid a wasted trip.
Visitation at the James W. Allred Unit is managed under the direction of the unit warden, but the facility also follows TDCJ's statewide visitation rules. That means day-to-day details (like how visits are run on the ground) are handled locally, while the schedule, visit limits, and what's allowed all trace back to a consistent set of TDCJ guidelines.
Note: If you're traveling more than 250 miles one way, the warden may allow an extended visit of up to four hours. This is discretionary and depends on available time and space.
Visiting hours are Saturdays and Sundays, 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. That's a wide window, but your actual visit still has to fit within the unit's setup and the visit-limit rules that apply to your loved one for that week.
Allred also offers remote video visits alongside in-person contact or general visits. Video visits are separate from in-person visits and may occur once per month for up to 60 minutes.
The "one-visit-per-week" rule is really a "one visit per visiting cycle" rule. Each cycle runs from Monday through the following Sunday, and eligible inmates are normally allowed one visit during that window. In practice, if you visit on Saturday, a second in-person visit on Sunday of the same cycle usually won't be allowed.
Eligibility Custody
- ✓ G1: eligible for one contact visit per week
- ✓ J1: eligible for one contact visit per week
- ✓ J2: eligible for one contact visit per week
Planning Tips
- ✓ Confirm the weekend visiting hours you’re planning around (Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)
- ✓ Ask your loved one what visitation frequency applies to them so you don’t accidentally plan two visits in the same visiting cycle
- ✓ If you already visited this cycle, plan your next trip for the next cycle instead of trying a second weekend day
- Figure out your visiting cycle - Treat the cycle as a Monday-to-Sunday week, then decide which weekend day you want to use for your one visit.
- Pick one weekend day and commit to it - Since eligible inmates normally get one visit per visiting cycle, choosing Saturday and keeping Sunday as a backup can still create a conflict if Saturday goes through.
- If plans change, shift to the next cycle - When you miss a visit opportunity, the cleanest fix is usually moving to the next visiting cycle instead of trying multiple attempts inside the same week.
Tip: Traveling more than 250 miles one way? Call the unit ahead of time and ask whether an extended visit is possible. Extensions of up to four hours are discretionary and depend on available time and space.
If making it out on a specific weekend is tough, a remote video visit can help you stay connected. Video visits are in addition to in-person contact or general visits and may occur once per month for up to 60 minutes.
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