Federal prison FAQ # Identity and difference Being the only one of something in the building. Age, language, religion, disability, and the citizenship question that changes everything. Standing out ## Being the only one ### What if I'm the only guy like me in there? I was. It is weird, and you get used to it faster than you expect. ### What if I don't speak Spanish? That is okay. ### What if I'm autistic, ADHD, or have a learning disability? I am autistic and ADHD and had been on stimulants for twenty years going in. You will not get those inside. I survived it. You can too. What is worth doing: get the diagnosis documented before you report, and read [PS 5200.06](/resources/program-statements/5200-06-management-of-inmates-with-disabilities) so you know what accommodations actually exist to ask for. Neither of those gives you your prescription back. Both make the rest of it easier to argue. ### What if I'm 70 years old? Find a new hobby. Nobody is going to bother you. ### What if I'm 21? Oh boy. You are the group most likely to make an expensive mistake in the first month. Say less than you want to and copy whoever the quietest respected man on the unit is. Faith ## Religious services ### What if I'm not religious? Should I go to services anyway? Your choice. Plenty of men go for the room and the quiet rather than the religion, and nobody minds. ### What if I'm Muslim, Jewish, or Native? There are religious services for every faith, and religious accommodation is one of the few areas of the system with actual teeth behind it. Diet, articles, and time to observe are all things the chaplain (staffer who runs religion and delivers bad news) can approve, and a written request that names the observance tends to go somewhere. Citizenship ## The one that changes the whole sentence ### What if I'm not a US citizen? Your sentence is a different sentence than the one the man next to you is serving, and almost nobody explains that at sentencing. Four things change: - **No camp.** Deportable alien is a Public Safety Factor under [PS 5100.08](/resources/program-statements/5100-08-inmate-security-designation-and-custody-classification), which puts a floor under your security level no matter how good your points are. - **Credits you earn but cannot use.** If there is a final order of removal against you, you still earn FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for your programming, and you cannot apply them to early release. The work counts and the clock does not move. - **No halfway house, no home confinement.** An immigration detainer (a hold from another jurisdiction) generally takes community placement off the table, and it takes the RDAP year off the table too. - **You do not walk out.** At the end of the term you go to ICE custody rather than to the street. None of that is negotiable from inside. All of it is worth an immigration lawyer's attention before sentencing, alongside your criminal attorney, because the immigration consequence and the plea are the same decision even when they are handled by two different people. Next section — part 16 of 16 ### [The head stuff](/going-in/faq/the-head-stuff) The part with the fewest procedures and the most weight. Stay busy is not a cliche here. It is the entire method. For your people ## Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](/for-families) — a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](/resources/facilities) with [email alerts when visiting stops](/lockdown-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](/resources/support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out.