Prince Harry’s US visa under scrutiny amid drug admissions

In an unusual legal twist, Prince Harry finds himself at the centre of a court case in the United States on the same day he is scheduled to appear in London’s High Court. Lawyers are set to appear in a federal courtroom in Washington DC, demanding the release of the Duke of Sussex’s US visa application form, which could potentially result in his removal from the country. The case revolves around how Prince Harry answered questions about drug use on his US visa form when he applied for a visa to move to America in March 2020.

The Heritage Foundation, an American conservative political research group, has filed a lawsuit against the US Department for Homeland Security (DHS) to determine if the proper rules were followed in granting Prince Harry his visa. In his Netflix series and memoir, Spare, the prince admitted to having used cocaine, marijuana, and magic mushrooms. Under US law, admitting to or providing evidence of past drug use can be grounds for rejecting a visa application.

Lawyers for the Heritage Foundation highlight two key questions in the US DS160 visa form. The first question asks if the applicant has ever been a drug abuser or addict, while the second question inquires if the applicant has ever violated or conspired to violate any law relating to controlled substances.

In an interview with Sky News before the court hearing, Sam Dewey, counsel for the Heritage Foundation, said, “The government has taken the position that ‘there’s nothing to see here’.” Dewey continued, “We’ve taken the position that no, if you look through all the details of his admissions, you look at the drug laws, you look at the laws on admissions, there’s a real serious question as to whether or not he should have been admitted.”

Dewey also pointed out that if Prince Harry did not disclose his drug use, there is a serious question as to whether proceedings should have begun against him for that. The Heritage Foundation’s case is primarily based on a broader suspicion that the DHS is not acting according to procedure when granting visas.

The Heritage Foundation has often held the Biden administration accountable on various issues, including questioning the work of the DHS on visas and immigration. Prince Harry’s public admission of drug use and his description of them as a helpful “coping mechanism” has provided the foundation with a case study to argue that the DHS is not following procedure.

The US government has previously been accused of applying double standards and overlooking visa applications. As part of the evidence for their case, Heritage Foundation lawyers point to other celebrities, such as celebrity chef Nigella Lawson and musician Pete Doherty, who have been denied visas or faced delays due to past drug use.

The hearing could last for weeks and will begin with a ruling by the judge on whether the US Customs and Border Protection Agency must speed up its work to determine what records they hold of Prince Harry’s visa application. The judge must ultimately decide if it is in the public interest to release the prince’s application form or parts of it. The public will then discover if Prince Harry either lied about never taking drugs or admitted to taking them and was allowed entry into the US regardless.

A spokesperson for Prince Harry has not responded to Sky News’s request for comment.