Prince Harry will not face revocation of his U.S. visa (for now) despite his revelations about drug use in his memoir ‘Spare’.
The Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based conservative group, has expressed its intention to take the U.S. State Department to court after they were denied access to Prince Harry’s visa application to investigate whether he had declared his history of drug use upon entering the country.
Mike Howell, director of the foundation, previously accused Prince Harry of lying on his visa application and raised the possibility that it was rejected due to drug use or that he had received special treatment due to his status as a royal and celebrity, which would be illegal.
Prince Harry’s visa decision
In response to these allegations, a State Department spokesperson stated that visa records are confidential and details about individual cases cannot be released.
This decision represents a respite for the Duke of Sussex, who is in the midst of several legal battles at home with adverse results so far.
For now, details of Prince Harry’s visa will not be made public, as State Department Director Jimmy Wolfrey stated that there is an insufficient public interest to release the information and that the privacy interests of the subject will be respected.
Niles Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation, expressed his dissatisfaction with this decision, calling it “appalling” and criticizing the lack of transparency on the part of the Biden Administration.
For Gardiner, There are only three possible ways the Duke of Sussex could have entered the United States on a visa: by disclosing the full extent of his drug use and receiving a waiver. DHS blatantly ignored the law or Prince Harry lied under oath.
HERITAGE FOUNDATION STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY'S REFUSAL TO RELEASE PRINCE HARRY'S IMMIGRATION RECORDS
This week The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) refused to confirm or deny whether or not they had records relating to the Duke of Sussex… pic.twitter.com/4LBPOvMOnG
— Nile Gardiner (@NileGardiner) June 14, 2023
The Heritage Foundation will continue to challenge this decision and expects the case to be brought before a federal court to decide on the release of Prince Harry’s immigration records.
Although Prince Harry has won a small victory at this point, the fight over the disclosure of his visa application is likely to continue in federal court, with the possibility that U.S. government representatives will be called to testify.
What do the experts say?
Legal experts are divided on whether Prince Harry’s confessions of past drug use could lead to the revocation of his visa.
According to attorney James Leonard, the prince is not currently at risk of losing his right to residency and being deported because of these revelations.
However, he points out that if he had been arrested or fined for driving under the influence of alcohol, the situation would be different.