Prince Harry’s visa application to the US is facing renewed scrutiny
Prince Harry’s visa application to the US is facing renewed scrutiny(Image: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Prince Harry is under renewed scrutiny over his US visa application, following the discovery of more than 1,000 documents related to his case by the Trump administration. Some of this information could potentially be made public.
Court records reveal that 1,007 papers concerning the Duke of Sussex were located at the US Department of State, which oversees visa applications. These include 217 records from the Office of the Secretary of State – the equivalent of our Foreign Secretary.
The filings also indicate there are 517 “potentially responsive records” from the Bureau of Consular Affairs, 271 from the Office of the Legal Advisor and two from the Office of the Deputy Secretary of State. These will now be reviewed by a judge in Washington to decide what should be disclosed.
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This follows a lawsuit by right-wing US think-tank, the Heritage Foundation, against the Department of State in January, after previously taking action against the US Department of Homeland Security. That lawsuit resulted in the release of numerous files, but none revealed Harry’s visa status or whether he had been dishonest in his application.
In the latest court filings, Heritage suggests that Harry may have lied about drug use, despite publicly admitting to using cocaine and marijuana in his memoir, Spare. The think-tank’s lawyer, Samuel Dewey, said the number of papers on Harry “shows they are monitoring him pretty closely”.
He added: “I think we’re going to see documents from Harry talking about the case, but other material may be withheld. Then it will be up to politicians whether that decision is overruled.”
The legal battles have sparked rumours that Donald Trump could deport Harry, who relocated to the US with his American spouse Meghan in 2020. The Department of State declined to comment.
Attempts were made to reach out to Harry’s representatives.