Hi, I am due to self surrender on April 12. I was wondering, how soon is it before my immediate family can visit me? Would they be able to see me the upcoming weekend? I've heard that immediate family members are automatically approved but I just wonder if this is the case and if they can come starting that weekend. Thanks for any information.

Even immediate family members must be approved and that is unlikely to occur by the first weekend. As soon as you meet with your counselor, you will receive visitation forms which you will mail to each person you want to have on your visitor list. They will complete the forms and return to your counselor, not to you.

The officers in the visitation room have no way of knowing who is an immediate family member, they can only pull up your approved list on the computer when a visitor shows up.

FYI, they ask visitors as they drive in if they are carrying drugs or a gun. Even if they have a license to carry, they cannot bring a gun on the compound and leave it in their car.

SusanT's experience is different from mine, but I imagine that habits simply vary from one institution to another. When I self-reported, one of the first things my unit counselor did was to hand me a form on which to put all "immediate family members" (parents, spouse, children) who should go immediately onto my visitor list, no questions asked. I reported on a Wednesday afternoon and my wife was there to see me Sunday.

Thank you for your responses. I turn myself in on a Monday so hopefully by the weekend I'll be able to have visitation. Thanks again

My understanding is that immediate family can go immediately on to the visiting list IF they are listed in the PSI report. But, as said above, it may be done differently in different places. Zelda