Judge reviews Prince Harry’s visa papers in dispute over release
A federal judge did that the Department of Homeland Security has ordered to submit documents related to Prince Harry’s visa to the court for review after the department refused to release them to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, under the Freedom of Information Act.
The Heritage Foundation has sued the department, saying it has the right to see the documents as part of an investigation into whether Prince Harry was wrongfully allowed to stay in the United States given his admissions in his 2023 memoir and elsewhere that he had used cocaine. and other medications.
The foundation had requested the documents specifically to investigate how the prince was admitted, as certain visas that could have allowed him to enter the United States require applicants to answer questions about past drug use and drug-related legal violations.
Judge Carl J. Nichols of the Federal District Court in Washington ordered the department to submit the papers in question for his confidential review to determine whether they should be released in some form.
The possibility that the prince concealed drug use when applying for a visa could have immigration implications, and waivers that would have been granted to him generally would have been precluded by the nature of the drug use he described in public interviews and his memoirs.
“Widespread and ongoing media reporting has raised questions about whether DHS was justified in admitting the Duke of Sussex, in light of his publicly admitting to key elements of a number of drug offenses, both in the United States as abroad,” the foundation said. attorneys wrote in their original complaint.
The complaint cited numerous other cases in which celebrities and public figures such as soccer star Diego Maradona and singer Amy Winehouse encountered immigration problems or were denied entry due to reported drug use.
The legal dispute began in May after the department returned the Heritage Foundation’s request, finding it “too broad in scope.” It did not immediately reject the request, but instructed the think tank to resubmit the application and identify more specific documents for it to consider.
Prince harry and his wife meghan lived in california for a while before his memoirs were published, and he has shown interest upon becoming a US citizen.