Prince Harry’s U.S. Immigration Files Unsealed After Legal Challenge amid Memoir’s Drug Use Disclosure

Prince Harry‘s U.S. visa records were made public as part of a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, revealing that he did not receive special treatment when obtaining his visa.

The records, which were heavily redacted and did not include Harry’s visa application itself, were released on Tuesday, March 18, and included a statement from a DHS official affirming that Harry’s immigration process followed standard procedures.

“This speculation by Plaintiffs does not point to any evidence of government misconduct,” the agency stated in one of the heavily redacted documents. “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 regulations.”

PEOPLE has reached out to a representative for the Duke of Sussex for comment.

Judge Carl Nichols ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to release the redacted documents in a March 15 court filing. The decision came after Nichols initially ruled in September that there was no public interest in disclosing the files — a stance the conservative Heritage Foundation challenged in court.

The Heritage Foundation claims that Harry may have misrepresented his past drug use on his visa application, citing admissions from his January 2023 memoir, Spare, in which he detailed experimenting with various drugs. U.S. visa applications require applicants to disclose past and present drug use, and such admissions can be grounds for denial depending on various factors.

“Of course…I had been doing cocaine around this time. At someone’s country house, during a shooting weekend, I’d been offered a line, and I’d done a few more since. It wasn’t much fun, and it didn’t make me particularly happy, as it seemed to make everyone around me, but it did make me feel different, and that was the main goal,” he wrote in Spare.

“Feel. Different. I was a deeply unhappy 17-year-old boy willing to try almost anything that would alter the status quo,” he wrote.

The Department of Homeland Security redacted the full immigration record in its March 18 release, including Harry’s status in the U.S.

“To release his exact status could subject him to reasonably foreseeable harm in the form of harassment as well as unwanted contact by the media and others,” the court filing states. “The Duke of Sussex has not consented to disclosure of his records to Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs have not proven sufficient public interest to outweigh the Duke’s right to privacy concerning any other potential CBP records about him that may or may not exist.”

The Duke of Sussex and his wife, Meghan Markle, moved to her home state of California in 2020 after stepping back from their royal roles in the U.K. and have resided there since with their children Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3. While the Duchess of Sussex, 43, is a U.S. citizen, the BBC previously reported that it is “unclear what type of visa Prince Harry is in the U.S. on.”

According to Time, the DHS denied the FOI request in June 2023 and asked for the case to be dismissed, arguing that immigration records are traditionally exempt from FOIA.

The Telegraph reported in February 2024 that lawyers for the Biden administration also pushed back against the request, arguing that visa applications are “private personal information.” The outlet reported that John Bardo told the court, “Saying something in a book doesn’t necessarily make it true.”

In February 2024, President Donald Trump told the Daily Express that he “wouldn’t protect” Prince Harry regarding scrutiny around the confidential shroud around his immigration status. “I wouldn’t protect him… He would be on his own if it was down to me,” Trump added.

In an interview that aired on Good Morning America last year, Prince Harry said he’s “considered” becoming a U.S. citizen.

The Duke of Sussex spoke with GMA‘s Will Reeve during the Invictus Games’ One Year to Go celebration in Canada in February 2024. Reeve asked how he was enjoying life in the U.S., and Harry replied, “It’s amazing. I love every single day.”

Reeve asked Prince Harry if he felt American, to which he laughed and said, “Do I feel American? Um, no. I don’t know how I feel.”

The Duke of Sussex said he had “considered” becoming a U.S. citizen, but it wasn’t a “high priority.”

“I’m here standing next to this with these guys and the American citizenship is a thought that has crossed my mind but certainly not something that is a high priority for me right now,” Harry said, emphasizing his focus on the Invictus Games countdown event then.

If the Duke of Sussex were to become a U.S. citizen, he may have to give up his royal titles, the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services states.