U.S. attorneys to face off with Heritage Foundation in court over Prince Harry's visa application

The U.S. government is set to appear in federal court next week regarding Prince Harry’s visa application after he admitted to using drugs in his recent memoir. 

Earlier this month, the D.C.-based think tank The Heritage Foundation filed a lawsuit against the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) to release Prince Harry’s immigration records, arguing that they are of “immense public interest.” 

“Widespread and continuous media coverage has surfaced the question of whether DHS properly admitted the Duke of Sussex in light of the fact that he has publicly admitted to the essential elements of a number of drug offenses in both the United States and abroad,” the plaintiffs said in the lawsuit. 

According to U.S. law, visa applicants who are found to abuse drugs or have admitted to using controlled substances are “inadmissible.” In the visa application, applicants have to answer “yes” or “no” to the question “Are you or have you ever been a drug abuser or addict?”

However, Prince Harry admitted to having used drugs, including cocaine, marijuana, and psychedelic mushrooms, in his memoir “Spare.”

The royal prince has been living in California with his wife Meghan Markle since March 2020 after leaving behind his royal duties in the U.K. It is unknown what kind of visa he used to enter the country. 

If the court votes to unseal the prince’s immigration records, which are usually exempt from FOIA acts, Harry’s status in the country could be impacted. 

The hearing will be held on June 6 at 2:30 p.m. in courtroom 17 of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said Nile Gardner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation. He added that the hearing will be open to the press.

The initial hearing is expected to be the first of several.