USP Lee, VA Inmate Roster

The United States Penitentiary Lee (USP Lee) is a high-security prison that is located in Pennington Gap, VA. This facility was finished in August 2001 and has been taking in inmates since 2002.

This large prison spans 635,097 square-feet and some Native American artifacts like pottery and arrowheads and pottery were discovered on its grounds. These artifacts are even estimated to be roughly 10,000 years old.

Some of the notable inmates who have been incarcerated at Lee County Federal Prison are former assassins for the Medellin Drug Cartel, Dandeny Munoz-Mosquera who is serving life for exploding a jetliner.

Also, Gerardo Castillo-Chavez who was a hitman for Loz Zetas and Somali pirate leader Mohammed Modin Hasan are both serving life sentences in this maximum-security facility.

You may have also heard of Lee USP from the popular television show, America’s Most Wanted, which featured the story of inmate Edward Porta who supposedly walked right away from the facility’s satellite minimum-security camp. Porta remained a fugitive for eight years before finally being found.

Inmate Search

You can search for inmates in the USP Lee or any other Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities by clicking here. You can search for inmates by their BOP registration number or their full name (you can include their age, sex, and race if applicable as well).

The information about the inmate that will show up in your search will be:

• Name
• Register Number
• Race
• Age
• Sex
• Location
• Release Date

As for the location and release date, the results of these two may vary. For example, if an inmate has been released their location will say “released”. A strange example is, if their release date is in the past and their location is not specified, it could mean the inmate is still on parole or in another prison outside of the BOP.

Visitation Hours and Rules

Under normal circumstances, visiting hours at USP Lee are on Saturdays, Sundays, and federally recognized holidays from 8:30am to 3pm. It is important to keep in mind that visitors should arrive prior to 2pm so they can be properly processed. Those that come in past this time may not be able to visit.

However, as of October 3rd, 2020, there are certain restrictions in place due to the ongoing pandemic. There are now three visiting sessions separate from one another that only occur on Saturdays and Sundays.

• Session 1

Beginning at 7:45am, visitors can start processing for the 8:30am session in the front lobby. This visiting session will go from 8:30am to 9:30am. Once everyone has been processed as they leave, the area will be cleaned and sanitized for the next session.

• Session 2

Starting at 10:45am, visitors for the second session can start processing for the 11:30am session in the front lobby. Inmates will arrive by 11:30am and the session will go for one hour to 12:30pm. The area will be, once again, cleaned and sanitized once all visitors and inmates have been processed and left.

• Session 3

Starting at 1:30pm those visiting inmates may start processing for the final session that begins at 2:15pm. Much like the other two sessions, this one will last for one hour (until 3:15pm) and the room will be cleaned and sanitized once again once everyone has left.

Visitation will also be on a first come, first serve basis and be limited to a maximum of 10 inmates in the visiting room to properly enforce social distancing. Visitors are also limited to only one adult and two children under the age of 16 maximum.

Inmate Visiting Lists

Visitors who want to see an inmate need to be pre-approved by being on the inmate’s visiting list and cleared by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Some people who are allowed to be placed on an inmate visiting list are:

• Immediate family (mother, father, spouse, legal guardians, siblings, children)
• Relatives (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins)
• Up to ten friends
• Employers
• Foreign officials
• Attorneys

This list is not exhaustive however, and if you are unsure whether you can visit an inmate or not, you should call the facility to specify.

Sometimes, when inmates initially enter prison a visiting list won’t be possible to make immediately. However, for those who can prove they are close family members by the Pre-Sentence Report, they can be allowed to visit without being on the visiting list.

Visitors that do receive a Visitor Information Form will need to fill out the fields that were not already completed by the inmate and send it back to the address located on the form. This is the inmate’s address and the format of this address is displayed further below.

Visitor Dress Code

Visitors must dress appropriately when arriving to visit an inmate. Any clothing that is provocative and certain types of apparel are not allowed during visitation and you could be sent away if you do not meet the dress code. Some clothes that are not permitted during visitation are:

• Revealing shorts
• Swimming attire
• Clothes that are see-through
• Excessively low-cut dresses or shirts
• Spandex
• Miniskirts
• Hats
• Sleeveless shirts or tank tops
• Clothing similar to inmate attire

Again, this is not a complete list of clothing that is not allowed and, if you are unsure if your attire is passable or not, call the facility beforehand for specifics.

Inmates are allowed at least four visitations per month but this can be expanded at the warden’s discretion. Also, depending on the nature of past visits, visitation could be limited in some regards for safety reasons.

The visits should be kept quiet and should not disturb other visiting sessions going on nearby. Facility staff could intervene and cut the visit off if it is becoming unruly or they believe contraband is being given to the inmate.

Finally, you must show a valid photo ID when you arrive for a visit. Some examples of a valid ID are a valid driver’s license, a passport, a resident alien card, or a federal/state ID card. Commonly misconstrued, documents such as a Mexican Consular or a birth certificate are not considered valid forms of ID.

Driving Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/LxDnNLX5FCC2

USP Lee Phone Number and Email Address

Phone: 276-546-0150
Fax: 276-546-9115
Email: LEE/[email protected]

Mailing Address for Inmates

USP Lee
Inmate Name and Registration Number
USP Lee
U.S. Penitentiary
P.O. Box 305
Jonesville, VA 24263

Satellite Prison Camp
Inmate Name and Registration Number
USP Lee
Satellite Prison Camp
P.O. Box 644
Jonesville, VA 24263

Inmates can receive as much mail as they would like, however, the mail must show their complete name, registration number, facility name, and facility address. Packages are not allowed to be delivered unless they are for necessary medical supplies or their release clothes.

How to Send Money

If you wish to send money to an inmate, this can greatly help their comfortability while serving time. This money can be saved for when they are released or spent in the commissary, where they can buy various items for sale.

For federal prisoners, it is possible to send money through the United States Postal Service (USPS) or electronically through MoneyGram or Western Union. We’ll go through these options in detail below:

• United States Postal Service

You should not send money to the facility’s address, all funds that are sent through USPS must be addressed to the address listed below. The address is the location of a processing center that handles the distribution of your money to the inmate. The address template is:

Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP)
Inmate name
Inmate number
P.O. Box 474701
Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001

The other, electronic ways to send inmates money, have grown in popularity in more recent years and have proven to be effective in safely moving your funds.

• MoneyGram

MoneyGram is one of the services that allows you to send inmates funds electronically. With this method you can get your funds to the inmate much quicker as the website operates 7 days a week from 7am to 9pm.

Before you send any money, you must first ensure that the inmate has physically arrived at the prison. Then, you will need the inmate’s register number and full name to distribute your funds successfully.

You will have to fill out a MoneyGram ExpressPayment Blue Form as well. You will again, need to know the inmate’s register number and full name as well as a few given details such as:

• Company Name (Always the Federal Bureau of Prisons)
• City & State (Always Washington, DC)
• Receive Code (Always 7932)
• Western Union

The Quick Collect Program is Western Union’s way of sending inmate’s money electronically. The form needed to do this is found on their website which you can find here. Much like MoneyGram, the form is fairly easy to fill out and requires similar information (inmate’s name, registration number, etc.)

Money that inmates receive can be spent on various items in the commissary, which is basically like a convenience store inside the prison. You can buy anything from snacks, drinks, to over the counter medications in the commissary.

Keep in mind that inmates can use this money for bargaining though. Buying useful items at the commissary can be bartered for drugs or contraband sometimes, so be sure to monitor your funds for any suspicious activity.

How to Call an Inmate

Inmates must be the ones to make calls as they cannot receive any inbound calls. Phone services are offered to all inmates but, typically, the inmate will have to pay to make the call.

The offender can only call their approved numbers, however, they are the ones that create their list of approved numbers. They simply have to add a phone number and contact to their TRULINCS contact list and the number will be approved. This method is also how inmates can send and receive emails.

Services For ​USP Lee Inmates

Many various services are offered to inmates that can help make their time more comfortable at USP Lee. Some of these services include:

• Housing
• Health Services
• Drug Addiction Programs
• Psychology Services
• Education Programs
• Library Services
• Recreation Services
• Commissary

The health services Lee USP provides are physical exams, vaccinations, dental care, medications and emergency care. In particular, emergency care is available all day and night and inmates can request for a sick call.

The staff at USP Lee also offers mental health screenings and other various psychology services. These services can help with inmates with mental illnesses or those that are finding it difficult to adjust.

Also, the facility offers some programs for those struggling with substance abuse such as Alcoholics Anonymous, the Non-Residential Drug Abuse Treatment Program, Narcotics Anonymous, and drug education classes.

Some education services can be provided as well for inmates that are looking to learn at a GED level. There are also parenting classes available for those expecting to return home to families after their sentence.

A library is also made available to inmates who can check out fiction and non-fiction books or stay and read in the library itself.

As for the commissary, inmates are only allowed to spend $180 bi-weekly and all items count towards the spending limit. The only exceptions being kosher meals, over the counter medication, stamps, and copy cards.

Finally, USP Lee offers outdoor and indoor recreational services where inmates can play team sports like basketball, softball, or flag football. As for indoor activities, inmates can enjoy painting, drawing, or other art-related activities.

Careers at USP Lee

You can work a wide variety of jobs at USP Lee. These jobs will be available for those interested at USAjobs.gov.

Different positions can require all kinds of different skill sets and experience levels and they are mostly full-time jobs that will have some level of danger. However, these jobs typically offer lucrative salaries and quality benefits for potential employees.

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