USP Lee Federal Custody
United States Penitentiary Lee is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, not by Lee County, the Lee County Sheriff's Office, SWVRJA, VADOC, or a Virginia court. BOP describes the institution as a high-security U.S. penitentiary with an adjacent minimum-security satellite camp. It houses male federal inmates. The facility is in Lee County, but its records, mail rules, visiting rules, and money rules are federal BOP systems.
That distinction changes the whole search path. The SWVRJA JailTracker roster is used for local and regional jail detainees at Duffield. It does not search sentenced federal inmates at USP Lee. Virginia court case systems may show some federal-related local proceedings only if a state case exists, but they do not replace the BOP locator. VADOC handles Virginia state custody and supervision. ICE ODLS handles immigration detention. USP Lee is BOP.
The BOP facility page also links institutional resources such as visiting information, inmate correspondence rules, and audit material. BOP's public data identifies USP Lee within the Mid-Atlantic Region and the Western Virginia judicial district. Its public endpoint lists an operational level, facility contact data, population figures, and separate mail routes for the main penitentiary and the camp.
USP Lee Population
BOP public data dated June 25, 2026 lists 1,299 total inmates at United States Penitentiary Lee. The total is split between 1,220 at Lee USP and 79 at Lee USP-Camp. The BOP page does not publish a rated capacity figure in the research source, so the population should be stated without inventing a capacity percentage or overcrowding rate. BOP also identifies the facility gender as male.
| BOP population item | Figure | Source note |
|---|---|---|
| Total inmates | 1,299 | BOP public endpoint and population report, June 25, 2026. |
| Main USP | 1,220 | High-security penitentiary count. |
| Satellite camp | 79 | Minimum-security camp count. |
| Rated capacity | Not published | The reviewed BOP page did not provide a rated-capacity number. |
| Gender | Male | BOP endpoint identifies the institution population by gender. |
These federal numbers should not be mixed into a Lee County jail population rate. USP Lee is physically in Lee County, but it houses federal sentenced inmates from the federal system. The local and regional jail population for Lee County arrests is tied to SWVRJA Duffield and regional reporting, not the federal prison count.
USP Lee Inmate Search
The correct lookup tool is the BOP Inmate Locator. It searches federal custody by number or by name. A number search can use a BOP Register Number in the displayed format, or a DCDC, FBI, or INS number. A name search uses first and last name, with optional middle name, race, age, and sex filters. BOP sample result fields include name, register number, age, race, sex, release date, and location.
BOP warns that release dates may not always be current because sentence calculations can change under federal law and policy. If a result says "Released" or "Not in BOP Custody," the person may still be in another custody system, on supervision, or held elsewhere. For a Lee County reader, that means a failed BOP result should not be forced into the SWVRJA roster unless there is a local arrest or regional jail reason to search Duffield.
- Open the BOP Inmate Locator and choose either number search or name search.
- Use the BOP Register Number if known, because it is the cleanest federal identifier.
- For a name search, enter first and last name, then add age, race, or sex only if needed to narrow the result.
- Review the Location field and confirm that the result names Lee USP, USP Lee, or the Lee camp.
- Check the release-date field with caution, because BOP says release dates can change after sentence review.
- If no result appears, check whether the person is in SWVRJA, VADOC, ICE custody, or another federal status not reflected by USP Lee.
The BOP Inmate Locator provides the federal search fields used for United States Penitentiary Lee.
That locator is the federal custody tool, while the SWVRJA JailTracker roster is only for regional jail custody such as Duffield.
| BOP search path | Required field | What it confirms |
|---|---|---|
| Find by number | BOP Register Number, DCDC, FBI, or INS number | Matches a federal identity number to a custody record. |
| Find by name | First and last name | Finds possible federal inmates by name. |
| Optional filters | Middle name, race, age, sex | Helps narrow common names. |
| Result location | Facility name | Confirms whether the person is at USP Lee or elsewhere. |
| Release date | BOP result field | Shows federal release information, subject to BOP's update warning. |
USP Lee Contact
United States Penitentiary Lee has separate physical, staff-mail, inmate-mail, camp-mail, and shipping routes. Public contact should use the official BOP facility phone or the BOP facility page before sending mail or planning a visit. Staff mail and inmate mail are not the same route, and BOP specifically separates the main penitentiary from the satellite camp for inmate correspondence.
United States Penitentiary Lee
Lee County Industrial Park
Hickory Flats Road
Pennington Gap, VA 24277
276-546-0150
Fax: 276-546-9115
BOP Staff Mail
USP Lee
P.O. Box 900
Jonesville, VA 24263
LEE-ExecAssistant-S@bop.gov
Use for official staff correspondence, not inmate mail.
The BOP USP Lee facility page identifies the prison as the federal facility in Lee County and links the official visiting and correspondence resources.
The BOP page is the source to use when federal facility rules conflict with local jail habits or county-level search assumptions.
USP Lee Visitation
Visitation at USP Lee is governed by BOP rules and the institution's current visiting status. It is not governed by SWVRJA video visitation rules, Duffield's Smart Communications visit schedule, or Lee County sheriff office hours. BOP warns that typical visiting hours may not cover all cases and that the warden may restrict or cancel visiting for safety, security, institution operations, or weather.
| Visit issue | BOP rule source | Practical effect |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule | BOP facility visiting information | Check current USP Lee visiting status before travel. |
| Approval | BOP visitor procedures | Visitors usually must be approved under federal prison rules. |
| Security changes | Warden authority | Visits may be cancelled or restricted for safety, security, or weather. |
| Main USP and camp | Institution-specific routing | Confirm whether the inmate is housed at the USP or the camp. |
| Local jail rules | Not applicable | Do not use SWVRJA visit windows for USP Lee. |
Before planning a trip, confirm the inmate's location in the BOP locator and then check the official USP Lee visiting instructions. A federal prison visit can be affected by lockdowns, weather, modified operations, discipline, housing moves, or a missing visitor approval. A local Lee County arrest record or court date does not create BOP visiting approval.
USP Lee Mail Money
USP Lee mail routing depends on whether the inmate is in the main penitentiary or the satellite camp. The inmate's full committed name and register number should be included. Sending mail to the physical address or staff P.O. box can delay or misroute inmate correspondence. BOP also says inmate money should not be sent to the institution address. Federal inmate money mailed through the postal system goes to the national processing center in Des Moines, Iowa under BOP rules.
| Service | Official routing | Important distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Main USP inmate mail | Inmate name and register number, USP Lee, U.S. Penitentiary, P.O. Box 305, Jonesville, VA 24263 | Use for main penitentiary inmates. |
| Camp inmate mail | Inmate name and register number, USP Lee, U.S. Penitentiary, Satellite Camp, P.O. Box 644, Jonesville, VA 24263 | Use for satellite camp inmates. |
| Staff mail | P.O. Box 900, Jonesville, VA 24263 | Not inmate correspondence. |
| Shipping and freight | Lee County Industrial Park, Hickory Flats Road, Pennington Gap, VA 24277 | Do not treat as ordinary inmate mail. |
| Money by mail | BOP national processing center in Des Moines, Iowa | Do not send inmate money to USP Lee's facility address. |
| Local jail deposits | Not applicable | JailATM and SWVRJA kiosk rules are for Duffield, not USP Lee. |
Federal mail and money errors are common when families search by county name first. A person at USP Lee may be in Lee County, but the account rules are federal. For a local or regional jail detainee, use SWVRJA Duffield mail and commissary rules instead. For a sentenced federal inmate, use BOP's federal correspondence and deposit guidance.
USP Lee Mugshot Limits
USP Lee does not provide a public federal mugshot gallery for inmate searches. The BOP locator is a custody and location tool. It provides sample result fields such as name, register number, age, race, sex, release date, and location, but it is not a booking-photo site. Federal intake photos, prison identification photos, and investigative images are not the same as local jail roster mugshots.
That limit is separate from Virginia local jail practice. The SWVRJA JailTracker app strings include image fields, but public image display for Duffield was not confirmed from the inspected sources. The Lee County sheriff weekly commit PDF text did not show mugshot fields. For a federal inmate at USP Lee, do not expect BOP to publish a public mugshot gallery through the locator, and do not use commercial mugshot sites as a substitute for official records.
USP Lee Records
Federal prison records and local Lee County jail records are governed by different systems. BOP owns USP Lee custody information, institutional rules, mail routing, visiting status, and federal population data. SWVRJA owns regional jail records for Duffield. VADOC owns Virginia state prison and supervision locator data. ICE owns ODLS immigration detention data. A search that starts with the wrong agency can return nothing even when the person is in custody.
For current BOP location, use the locator. For a public facility identity check, use the BOP USP Lee page. For a federal defendant who is not yet a sentenced BOP inmate, the person may be in U.S. Marshals custody or another contract facility, and no official Lee County/SWVRJA USMS contract detail was found in the research. For Lee County local custody after arrest, the Duffield Facility roster search is the regional jail route.
Note: A federal prison location in Lee County does not make the inmate searchable through Lee County's regional jail roster.
USP Lee Oversight
BOP facility materials for USP Lee include a PREA audit report posted October 4, 2024. BOP notes that the report is an outside-auditor work product under federal PREA audit rules. The public endpoint also lists operational level 3 dated January 9, 2024. These are federal institutional materials, not county jail inspection records.
The difference matters for Lee County searches. SWVRJA Duffield is reviewed under Virginia local and regional jail standards. USP Lee is a federal BOP institution. A family member seeking custody location, mail rules, visiting restrictions, or population data should use the agency that runs the facility. For USP Lee, that agency is BOP.
Lee County Custody Systems
Lee County has two major detention names that can confuse searches. Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority - Duffield Facility is the local and regional jail route for Lee County arrests and short-term custody. United States Penitentiary Lee is a federal prison for sentenced male federal inmates and a minimum-security camp population. VADOC covers Virginia state prisoners after state sentencing, and ICE ODLS covers immigration detention when applicable.
A practical search starts with the reason for custody. Local arrest, bond, booking charge, and first court appearance usually point to Duffield and court records. Federal sentence, BOP register number, or USP Lee location points to BOP. State prison sentence points to VADOC. Immigration hold or ICE transfer points to ODLS. The systems overlap in geography but not in record control.
Note: Confirm federal custody, visit status, and mail routing with BOP before travel, mailing letters, or sending money.