Prince Harry's unsealed US immigration records confirm no ‘evidence of government misconduct’
ByTuhin Das Mahapatra
Mar 19, 2025 12:48 PM IST
Prince Harry's U.S. visa documents have been released under Freedom of Information, but many sections were redacted.
Prince Harry's U.S. visa documents have finally been released under Freedom of Information, though they have been heavily redacted.
Redacted visa documents for Prince Harry reveal no evidence of preferential treatment regarding his immigration status. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier/File Photo(REUTERS)
Redacted visa documents for Prince Harry reveal no evidence of preferential treatment regarding his immigration status. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier/File Photo(REUTERS)
The U.S. government was given until the end of Tuesday to disclose the documents related to Prince Harry’s immigration status.
“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,” the released court documents state.
“This speculation by Plaintiffs does not point to any evidence of government misconduct.”
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The documents further clarify that “the records, as explained above, do not support such an allegation but show the regulatory process involved in reviewing and granting immigration benefits which was done in compliance with the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1103 and applicable rules and regulation,” per The Sun.
US judge unsealed Harry's visa documents
Judge Carl Nichols ruled in favour of the Heritage Foundation’s request to release the documents, but many of the requested pages were redacted. The foundation pushed for their disclosure after Prince Harry publicly admitted to using illegal substances in his memoir Spare and his Netflix series.
One of the main concerns was whether Harry had received special treatment under the previous U.S. administration or if he had misrepresented his drug use history. However, the redacted documents appear to indicate that no such favouritism took place.
The legal battle over Harry’s immigration records began after the Heritage Foundation argued that the Duke should not have been allowed into the U.S. after publicly admitting to drug use.
In Spare, Harry wrote about his experiences with narcotics, stating that cocaine “didn't do anything for me” but that “marijuana is different, that actually really did help me.”
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services states, “Applicants who are found to be drug abusers or addicts are inadmissible,” and the think-tank argued all this time that Harry voided that part and received favour from the Biden administration.
Last month, former U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed any idea of seeking Prince Harry’s deportation. However, he did not hesitate to take a dig at Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, whom he called “terrible.”
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