Prince Harry’s immigration documents have been released – but many questions remain on his status and whether he detailed past drug use in his visa application.
The US government complied to an end-of-day Tuesday deadline to share the files. However, they were heavily redacted.
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lawyer stated that Harry’s visa application followed all ‘applicable rules and regulations’.
DHS chief Freedom Of Information Act officer Jarrod Panter conveyed that the government had a duty to protect Harry’s privacy.
‘To release his exact status could subject him to reasonably foreseeable harm in the form of harassment as well as unwanted contact by the media and others,’ stated Panter.
‘There is the potential of harm in the form of harassment if his exact (redacted) is revealed. Thus, there is significant privacy interests involved in the records.’
An excerpt of the documents read: ‘Plaintiffs allege that the records should be disclosed as public confidence in the government would suffer or to establish whether the Duke was granted preferential treatment.
‘This speculation by Plaintiffs does not point to any evidence of government misconduct.’
A conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, sued to make Harry’s files public, seeking to find out primarily if he checked the ‘no’ box on drug use when applying with the US.
The group has been pushing for answers on whether Harry was asked or noted his past drug use in his visa papers before moving to Montecito, California, where he lives with his wife Meghan Markle and their two children.
Since Harry published his Spare memoir in January 2023 detailing his use of various drugs, the Heritage Foundation has alleged that he lied about it in his visa application.
In his bombshell book, the Duke of Sussex wrote that cocaine ‘didn’t do anything for me’.
‘Marijuana is different,’ he continued. ‘That actually really did help me.’
US visa applications ask for past and current drug use, and admission can lead to rejection but that is ultimately up to the discretion of immigration officers. Lying on applications can lead to a lifetime ban on entering the country.
The redacted files show ‘the continued assertion that the privacy interests outweigh the public interest’ Pepperdine Caruso School of Law associate professor Mary Hoopes, who specializes in immigration, told NBC News.
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