Federal Correctional Institution - Miami

Federal Correctional Institution - Miami, or FCI Miami, is a low-security federal correctional institution with an adjacent minimum-security satellite camp. FCI Miami is located in southwest Miami-Dade County, Florida, and houses a total of 1,256 male inmates. 872 inmates are incarcerated at the FCI and 384 at the satellite camp.

The history of this facility starts in 1976 when it was opened and then used to help house people that immigrated from Cuba to the United States during the “Mariel boatlift”. During this time, the influx of refugees reached numbers into the thousands, all of them without housing, income and some of them having criminal backgrounds.

Law enforcement utilized this location throughout this historical refugee surge until an agreement was made between the US and Cuban government to end the mass emigration.

A few notable inmates include:

Michael Conahan, a former Pennsylvania juvenile court judge who was involved in the “Cash for Kids” scandal. Conahan was convicted of taking money from the developer of two for-profit prisons in return for sentencing juveniles to serve time in those prisons. He is serving a 17-year sentence and is scheduled for release in 2026.

Lou Pearlman, the former manager of boy band sensations the Backstreet Boys and ‘Nsync. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme that caused investors a loss of over $300 million. He died in prison in 2016.

Manuel Noriega, the former dictator of Panama, who was convicted of drug trafficking, and money laundering because he turned Panama into an intermediate shipping point for smuggling cocaine from Colombia to the United States. After serving 20 years, he was extradited to France.

Prison Insights

Visiting hours at FCI Miami are on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Visitation days for the FCI are based on an odd/even system for Saturday’s and Sunday’s and will rotate monthly. Visiting on Friday for the FCI will be both odd and even.

If an inmate’s fifth number of the register number is even, he will be allowed to visit on even dates; if the fifth number of the register number is odd, visitation days will be on odd dates. For months ending with consecutive odd number days, the last day of the current month will be an even visitation day. On Thanksgiving, and Christmas, visiting will be both odd and even.

These system is confusing, so be sure to clarify the proper visiting day with your incarcerated loved one. Or call the prison directly to get more detailed information.

Visiting hours at the satellite camp are Friday evenings from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The camp does not have the odd/even system.

Inmates will be allowed a total of five adult visitors and three small children visitors at the same time. Children older than 3 years and/or using a Visiting Room chair, will be counted towards the adult limit.

Getting on the Approved Visit List

Authorized visitors who can visit an inmate include family, friends, and associates. You can't visit an inmate unless he puts you on the visiting list.

Everyone must fill out a visitor form, and they must have a relationship with the inmate prior to incarceration. If a potential visitor does not have a prior relationship with the inmate, their request will be reviewed by the warden.

Once the inmate requests to add someone to their visit list, a correctional counselor will provide them with a visiting form, and the inmate is responsible for mailing these out and letting the potential visitor know that they need to fill out the form and return it to the institution staff.

The unit team will do a background check and determine if a visitor application is approved. They make their decision based on constructive and security factors. The process takes about a week, and the unit staff will notify the inmate when the requested visitor is approved or refused.

It is the inmate’s responsibility to notify the visitor of the decision, and the process is the same for both adult and minor visitors.

Basic Visit Procedures and Rules

If you are 16 years of age or older, you must bring a valid photo ID with you to the visit, like a state or federal ID card, driver's license, or current passport. Birth certificates are not valid forms of ID.

All visitors are subject to a visual and pat search by an officer. You will also be scanned by a metal detector.

Any item you bring into the facility will be opened and searched by a staff member, and anyone who refuses a search of themselves or their property will not be allowed to visit with the inmate.

Visitors may bring the following items into the institution:

• Clear plastic bag no larger than 12x12
• Money (Up to $25 in denominations not larger than $5.00)
• Valid Photo identification
• Essential medication, limited to only the amount needed for the duration of the visit and will be supervised by the officer on duty.
• One overgarment (coat, jacket, sweater)
• One (1) car key
• Feminine Hygiene items (one tampon, one pad)

Authorized items for infants and/or children:

• Four (4) Diapers
• One (1) package of baby wipes in clear plastic bag
• One (1) change of infant clothing
• Two (2) clear baby bottles with contents
• Two (2) small jars of unopened baby
• (1) receiving blanket
• One (1) see-through drinking cup

Visitors are not authorized to bring any item into the institution to give to an inmate. Lockers are available to visitors for the storage of personal items that are not allowed in the institution, or you can return these items to your personal vehicle.

Cell phones, pagers, cameras, or electronic devices of any type are not authorized inside the institution.

Visitors should dress within the bounds of good taste and should not wear clothing which would offend others who may be present in the visiting room.

The following clothing items are not allowed in the visiting room:

• Shorts of any kind (except for small children under age of 10)
• Transparent garments of any kind
• Sleeveless blouses or shirts, must cover entire shoulder
• Bathing suits
• Mini Skirts
• Crop tops
• Sun dresses
• Halter tops
• Backless tops
• Hats, caps, scarfs
• Wrap around skirts, shirts or dresses
• Spandex pants, skirts or tights, Leotards
• Sweat pants/sweat shirts
• Shirts or jeans with holes
• Low cut blouses/dresses
• Hooded shirts, jackets or sweaters
• Skirts/dresses above knee level
• Open toe Shoes, 3” max spike heel
• Flip-flop style beach shoes

At the discretion of the Operations Lieutenant, any clothing resembling the style or color of inmate clothing (i.e., khaki, white, gray or camouflage in color clothing), may not be allowed to be worn into the institution.

There is no limit on the amount of mail that inmates receive, but all correspondence must have the inmate’s complete name, registration number, facility name, and address.

You can only send cards or letters to these addresses. Paperback books, newspapers, and magazines must come directly from the publisher via a subscription or mail order.

Inmates cannot receive packages through the mail, with the exception of a package of release day clothing. You can't send the release day package until 30 days prior to the scheduled release date.

How to Call an Inmate

Federal inmates are not allowed to have cellphones and they can't receive inbound calls. They can make outbound calls during approved hours, and they must pay for them with the money that is on their personal account or call collect.

Inmates will use TRULINCS to call to both landline and cell phones. This is also how inmates are able to send and receive emails. Your number must be added to the contact list for approval.

All phone calls are limited to 15 minutes, and will be monitored and recorded.

How to Send Money

Sending money is one of most important things you can do for an inmate. The prison will issue each prisoner the minimum amount of clothing and hygiene items, and provide them with three meals a day. But, it is extremely difficult for prisoners to have any level of comfort when living with just the items that are prison-issued.

Inmates can receive outside funds while incarcerated at a BOP-managed facility, which are deposited into their commissary accounts.

Postal Service

For federal prisoners, you can send money through the United States Postal Service by MONEY ORDER to the following address:

Federal Bureau of Prisons
Inmate Name
Eight-Digit Register Number
Post Office Box 474701
Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001

Send the funds to the address above. Replace the second line with the inmate's valid, full committed name. Replace the third line with the inmate's eight digit register number.

Never send money directly to the prison. If you are using the postal service, you must always send your money order to the bureau of prisons using the above address.

MoneyGram

You can send an inmate funds electronically using MoneyGram's Express Payment Program.To send funds using this method, please read and follow these steps carefully:

• Wait until an inmate has physically arrived at FCI Miami.
• Gather the information you'll need. Which includes the inmate’s name and number.
• Visit moneygram.com to complete your payment.

Information needed to complete MoneyGram payment:

• Account Number: Inmate's eight-digit register number with no spaces or dashes, followed immediately by the inmate's last name (example: 12345678DOE).
• Company Name: Federal Bureau of Prisons
• City & State: Washington, DC
• Receive Code is always: 7932
• Beneficiary: Inmate's full committed name

Western Union

If you would like to see a sample Western Union form click here. On their website, they have a special form for sending money to inmates, and you go directly to it by clicking here.

You will need to know the inmate’s full name and number, and you can pay with a debit or credit card at westernunion.com. Remember, any time you send money to an inmate you must always include their name and registration number on everything.

There are a few things that inmates can spend their money on. This includes phone calls, emails, and commissary.  The commissary is the prison store, where inmates can buy things like beverages, meals and snacks, OTC medications, stationary, personal hygiene items, clothing, or other miscellaneous products.

Please be aware that prisoners have their own economy inside the prison walls just like we do in the real world. Inmates that have a lot of money can do a lot of things both legal and illegal. Prisoners can potentially use the money in their account to buy things for other inmates in exchange for drugs and paraphernalia. This activity is illegal and can get an inmate in a lot of trouble.

Is important to keep track of how much money you are sending your incarcerated loved one, and watch out for any suspicious behavior.

​Programs For ​Inmates

• Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP)
• Non-Residential Drug Abuse Program (NR-DAP)
• Drug Abuse Education Course
• English as a Second Language (ESL)
• GED
• Literacy
• High School Diploma (via paid correspondence)
• Post-Secondary Programs (via paid correspondence)
• Parenting
• Janitorial
• Advanced Occupational Education in Custodial Maintenance and HVAC - 1
• Vocational training in Drafting
• Apprenticeships in plumbing, electrical, HVAC
• UNICOR facility that produces textiles and clothing

Pictures of Federal Correctional Institution - Miami

Careers at Federal Correctional Institution - Miami

If you are interested in pursuing a career with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, you can find available positions at FCI Miami by visiting USAJobs.gov. The salaries at the facility begin around $40,000 and can go up into the six-figure range, depending on the position.

Reviews from employees at FCI Miami report that it is a great work environment with outstanding employees. Some say they even considered their co-workers to be more like family. Other than a positive work environment, the salary and benefits are the second best part of a career at this Federal Correctional Institution.