Who Can Visit an Inmate at USP Terre Haute: Approved Visitor Categories and Limits

You can only visit an inmate at USP Terre Haute if the inmate has placed you on their approved visiting list and you have been cleared by the BOP. Show up before both pieces are in place, and you can be turned away, even if you are a close relative. Everything else in this article builds on that rule: who can be added, and what limits apply once the inmate is putting together their list.

USP Terre Haute recognizes a range of relatives as approved visitor categories. This can include grandparents, uncles, aunts, in-laws, and cousins. The inmate starts the process by creating their visiting list after arriving at the prison. If you are family and not sure whether you are listed yet, confirm that the inmate has actually added you for BOP clearance.

Not every approved visitor is a family member. USP Terre Haute can also approve members of religious groups (including clergy), which matters if your loved one is looking for spiritual support and you are visiting in that role. Employers can be approved too, whether former or prospective. This comes up when someone is trying to keep a job connection or plan for work after release. The BOP also recognizes sponsors and parole advisors as possible approved visitors, another way support people from the community can stay involved. The same rule applies: the inmate adds them, the BOP clears them.

Attorneys are an approved visitor category at USP Terre Haute, and foreign officials may be approved as well. These visits often have their own procedures and documentation requirements compared to a regular social visit. Check the facility's current visiting policy and follow the instructions for your visitor type before you try to schedule or travel.

There is a narrow exception that can matter right after someone arrives. When an inmate first enters USP Terre Haute or transfers in and a visiting list does not yet exist, immediate family members may be allowed to visit if they can be verified by the information in the inmate's Pre-Sentence Report. This does not erase the usual rule long term. Visits still depend on the inmate establishing a visiting list and the BOP clearing visitors. But it can help families trying to see someone during that initial transition period.

Closing Note

• ✓ Confirm the inmate has placed you on their approved visiting list.
• ✓ Make sure you are cleared by the BOP before planning a trip.
• ✓ If you are being added as a friend or associate, remember the visiting list allows no more than 10 friends/associates.
• ✓ If the inmate is brand new to USP Terre Haute and a visiting list is not set up yet, ask whether immediate family verified by the Pre Sentence Report can visit.