Prince Harry has been dealt a further blow in his ongoing immigration battle in the United States, after a new lawsuit revealed further details about his visa application
Andy Gilpin Deputy Editor in Chief and Bang Showbiz
07:33, 25 Aug 2025Updated 07:34, 25 Aug 2025
(Image: BANG Showbiz)
Prince Harry is facing fresh questions over his United States visa application.
The Duke of Sussex, 40, relocated to California in 2020 alongside his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, 44, following their decision to step back from Royal duties, and his immigration status in the US has come under fire since he revealed in his memoir Spare that he had used cocaine and cannabis.
Court documents have now disclosed that the Department of State is holding more than 1,000 files related to his case. The revelations in legal papers show that 1,007 documents concerning Harry were identified within the Department of State, which handles visa applications.
According to the records, 217 documents are kept by the Office of the Secretary of State – the equivalent of the UK foreign secretary – whilst 517 “potentially responsive records” were discovered within the Bureau of Consular Affairs.
An additional 271 papers are held by the Office of the Legal Adviser and two by the Office of the Deputy Secretary of State.
The documents are now set to be examined by a federal judge in Washington to determine what, if anything, may be made public.
Prince Harry could face problems with his visa(Image: Raymond Hall, GC Imagesvia Getty Images)
The development comes after a lawsuit filed in January by the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think-tank, which had previously taken legal action against the Department of Homeland Security in an attempt to access Harry’s immigration records.
Whilst the action resulted in the release of several files, none revealed details of his visa status or whether he provided truthful information in his application. Heritage has alleged in its most recent court submission that Harry may have concealed information about his previous drug use, despite revealing in Spare that he had used cocaine and cannabis.
The organisation’s legal representative Samuel Dewey described the volume of documents discovered as substantial.
He stated: “The number of papers on Harry shows they are monitoring him pretty closely. 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 challenges have sparked conjecture about how a possible Donald Trump presidency might handle Harry’s residence in the US.
US president Trump, 79, has previously criticised the Duke of Sussex and Meghan.
The Department of State has refused to comment on the court filings.