US judge rejects Heritage Foundation's bid to release Prince Harry’s visa records: ‘The public does not have…’

Prince Harry's application for a US visa should stay confidential, despite the Duke of Sussex's acknowledgement about using drugs in his memoir Spare, a judge ruled.

In his memoir, which was published in January 2023, Prince Harry confessed about consuming cocaine, marijuana, and hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Applications for visas often inquire about drug use, which might be a deal breaker. The conservative Heritage Foundation think group filed a lawsuit in an attempt to force the government to make the documents public and determine if the Prince revealed his usage in the visa application.

However, US Judge Carl Nichols declared on Monday that “the public does not have a strong interest in disclosure of the duke's immigration records”.

“Like any foreign national, the duke has a legitimate privacy interest in his immigration status,” the judge added.

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All you need to know about Prince Harry's drug usage and lawsuit

After stepping down from their royal duties, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, moved to the US in January 2020 with their son Archie.

The renowned think group in Washington, DC, claimed in a lawsuit filed last year that the government's admission of Prince Harry into the country was questioned because of the “widespread and continuous” media coverage of his acknowledged drug usage.

Drug use, both past and present, is an important inquiry that appears on application forms for US visas.

Although immigration authorities have the ability to make the ultimate decision based on a number of variables, drug usage can result in the rejection of both immigrant and non-immigrant visa applications.

According to the lawsuit filed by the Heritage Foundation, US law “generally renders such a person inadmissible for entry” into the nation.

In his memoir, the Duke stated that cocaine “didn't do anything for me.” He, however, added, “Marijuana is different, that actually really did help me.”

Attorneys for the Biden administration contended that Harry may have exaggerated facts to “sell books,” and that the events in the biography aren't “proof” that he used narcotics.