A US court has ruled that documents related to Prince Harry’s visa application must be made public by Tuesday.
Judge Carl Nichols ordered the release as part of an ongoing Freedom of Information (FOI) request filed by the right-wing think tank, the Heritage Foundation.
According to court filings dated March 15, the US Department of Homeland Security must provide redacted versions of the records by the deadline.
The think tank first questioned Harry’s eligibility to enter the US in 2020, citing his admissions of past drug use in his memoir, Spare.
However, in a 2024 ruling, Judge Nichols stated that the public did not have a “strong interest” in disclosing the Duke of Sussex’s immigration records, emphasizing that “like any foreign national, the Duke has a legitimate privacy interest in his immigration status.”
Despite this, the Heritage Foundation pushed for a review of the decision. While the Department of Homeland Security initially refused the FOI request, its lawyers later agreed to release redacted forms. “Specifically, Defendant would propose redacting all information that the Court has determined can be withheld,” DHS attorney John Bardo wrote in a legal filing.
The Heritage Foundation has alleged that Harry may have omitted past drug use that could have affected his visa eligibility. However, former US President Donald Trump recently dismissed the idea of deporting him, telling the New York Post, “I’ll leave him alone.”
Previously, Trump had stated he would not “protect” the Duke, telling Daily Express US, “He betrayed the Queen. That’s unforgivable. He would be on his own if it was down to me.”
Prince Harry moved to the US in 2020 with his wife, Meghan Markle. The couple lives in Montecito, California, with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
