What to Do When Your Visit Request Says 'Pending Approval' at Rogelio Sanchez State Jail

In the TDCJ online visitation scheduler, a relationship request stays in the “Relation Requests Pending Approval” section until the unit approves it. You’ll keep seeing it on your visitor home page in that pending area while staff confirms the visitor and inmate relationship. Once the relationship is confirmed, it moves out of pending status and you can move forward with scheduling, as long as scheduling is available for that inmate.

Sometimes your relationship is confirmed, but the scheduler still will not let you set anything up. If the inmate’s visitation privileges have been removed, the scheduler replaces the Schedule Visit button with the message “Not Approved for Visits.” When you see that message, the issue is not your pending request. It’s that visits cannot be scheduled through the system while those privileges are removed.

Another common situation is that you simply do not see a Schedule Visit button, or you see “Call Unit” in its place. In the scheduler, that is a direct prompt to contact the inmate’s unit of assignment to schedule the visit. It can also be your cue to call and verify what’s happening with approval status, because the unit can tell you whether your relationship request is still pending, already confirmed, or blocked by something on the facility side.

1. Open your visitor home page - Look for the name listed under “Relation Requests Pending Approval,” since requests stay there until the unit approves them.
2. Check what the scheduler shows next to the inmate’s name - If the Schedule Visit button is blank or replaced with “Call Unit,” the system is telling you to contact the inmate’s unit of assignment.
3. Call the unit and ask two direct questions - First, ask whether your Relationship Request has been received and approved (or if it is still pending). Second, ask what you need to do to schedule a visit if the scheduler is not showing the Schedule Visit button.
4. Confirm what to expect next - If the unit confirms the relationship, ask whether scheduling should appear online or whether you need to continue scheduling by phone through the unit.

If you were removed from an inmate’s Visitors List, you can appeal the removal in writing. The appeal goes to the Director’s Review Committee (DRC) at PO Box 99, Huntsville, TX 77342. TDCJ requires that the appeal be submitted within 14 days of the date on the written notice of removal from the unit, so pay close attention to the date on that notice.

• ✓ Write a clear appeal addressed to the Director’s Review Committee (DRC)
• ✓ Mail it to: Director’s Review Committee (DRC), PO Box 99, Huntsville, TX 77342
• ✓ Submit the appeal within 14 days of the date on the written notice of removal