How to Get on Someone's Visiting List at Manchester FCI

You can't just show up at Manchester FCI and ask to visit. The Bureau of Prisons requires advance approval, meaning your name must be on the inmate's approved visiting list before any visit can happen.

Before filling out paperwork or booking travel, confirm where the person is currently housed using the BOP Inmate Locator. People get moved between facilities, and sending forms to the wrong place will slow everything down.

Form Requirement

• ✓ Legal name
• ✓ Date of birth
• ✓ Address (including ZIP code)
• ✓ Telephone number (including area code)
• ✓ Race and sex
• ✓ Citizenship status
• ✓ Social Security number (if a U.S. citizen)
• ✓ Alien registration number (if not a U.S. citizen)
• ✓ Passport number
• ✓ Relationship to the inmate
• ✓ Whether you want to visit
• ✓ Whether you knew the inmate before the current incarceration (and, if yes, how long and where the relationship developed)

Fill out BP-A0629 carefully and legibly. Use your full legal name exactly as it appears on your ID, and stick to one clear date-of-birth format. For the citizenship section, provide the number the form asks for: your Social Security number if you're a U.S. citizen, or your alien registration number and passport number if you're not. Missing or mismatched identity details are a common reason forms get kicked back.

Signing BP-A0629 also authorizes the warden to obtain records about you, including criminal offenses and convictions. This is how the institution determines whether adding you to the visiting list would create a management or security concern.

Once you've completed BP-A0629, mail it to the institution address listed on the form. That's where your paperwork needs to go for the request to be considered.

1. Confirm the inmate’s current location: Use the BOP Inmate Locator first, especially if you have not heard from them recently.
2. Get and complete BP-A0629: Fill in every field the form asks for, and double-check names, dates, and numbers.
3. Verify Manchester FCI’s current contact information: Check the facility’s official BOP page so you are using the right address and phone information.
4. Send the form to the institution address listed on BP-A0629: Use the “institution address” section on the form as your destination.
5. Follow up if needed: If you have not received any update after a reasonable wait, contact the institution using the official BOP information and ask about the status.

After Manchester FCI receives your form, staff will review it as part of the approval process. Because BP-A0629 includes a background-check authorization, the institution can pull criminal offense and conviction records to help decide whether you can be added to the visiting list.

Processing time varies. It depends on how quickly background checks come back and whether your form was complete. If you're waiting on an answer, use the official BOP facility information to check in. And if a lot of time has passed since you last confirmed their location, re-check the BOP Inmate Locator before planning a trip. Transfers happen.

If you're told you weren't approved, ask the institution about next steps for reconsideration or appeal, and what they need from you (for example, a corrected form). The facility controls the visiting list, so they're the best source for denial questions and can tell you how to proceed based on your specific situation.