Prince Harry’s visa documents have been handed over to a judge who will decide whether to make them public.
President Joe Biden’s administration lawyers complied with a court order and gave the documents to a judge.
It comes following scrutiny surrounding Prince Harry’s immigration status in the US after a lawsuit was brought by The Heritage Foundation.
The conservative think tank wants Harry's visa documents to be made public to see if the duke lied about his drug use in his visa application.
The Duke of Sussex admitted to taking drugs including cannabis, cocaine, magic mushrooms and ayahuasca in his memoir Spare.
A court filing, as reported in Newsweek, read: “Defendant the U.S. Department of Homeland Security respectfully informs the court that it has complied with the court's March 7, 2024, order by submitting declarations with attachments for ex parte in camera [in private] review.”
The filing said that the document was submitted via an encrypted link.
The Department of Homeland Security declared at the beginning that it could not release Harry’s visa documents as it would be a breach of privacy.
They argued in a past filing: “Courts consistently hold that a person's visa or immigration status is private, personal information exempt from disclosure.
“Specifically, the records would reveal the types of documents that Prince Harry used to travel to the United States, his admission status, and any immigration, or non-immigration, benefits that he may have sought.”
But The Heritage Foundation argued that they have a right to know whether Harry was given unfavourable treatment due to his royal status.
US immigration authorities routinely ask about drug use on visa applications.
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However, acknowledging past drug use does not automatically result in rejection.
The Heritage Foundation filed a Freedom of Information request last year to discover if Harry lied on his visa documents.
Nile Gardiner, the director of the think tank, previously said: “Again, Harry has publicly admitted to extensive illegal drug use.
“What do we submit this means? That Harry seems to have received special treatment: the DHS looked the other way if the prince answered truthfully, or it looked the other way if the prince lied on his visa application. Either action would be wrong.”
