Prince Harry was seen beaming on Tuesday after the federal government declared that he did not receive any special treatment when he applied for a visa in the US.
The Duke of Sussex appeared to be at ease as he stepped out of a van to run errands in Santa Barbara, California – where he lives with his wife, Meghan Markle.
It seemed as if a weight had been lifted off the 40-year-old, who had been accused of lying about his drug use on his visa papers.
But in heavily-redacted documents, a lawyer from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said his application followed all the ‘applicable rules and regulations’.
The ruling marks the end of the right-wing Heritage Foundation’s lawsuit against the federal agency to prove Harry lied in his application – which led to speculation that President Donald Trump may deport the prince.
Harry has spoken publicly about using cannabis, cocaine and magic mushrooms in his memoir, Spare, and in his Netflix TV series.
Had he mentioned that on his immigration forms when he moved to the US in 2020, the prince could have been denied entry or faced further questioning.
Still, the documents that were released on Tuesday contain page after page of blocked-out type in an effort to protect Harry’s privacy and prevent him from being subjected to ‘harassment’.
Prince Harry was seen beaming on Tuesday after the federal government declared that he did not receive any special treatment when he applied for a visa in the US
It seemed as if a weight had been lifted off the 40-year-old, who had been accused of lying about his drug use on his visa papers
The federal government declared on Tuesday that he did not receive any special treatment when he applied for a visa
His actual immigration file is also still private, with Jarrod Panter, the chief Freedom of Information Act officer at DHS, saying the agency determined it was not possible to release ‘any portion’ of Harry’s records as anyone with a familiarity with immigration law could easily determine Harry’s status.
The prince has not publicly revealed his status in the US after immigrating in 2020 with Markle, 43, with whom he has two children.
Panter wrote that US immigration ‘routinely protects from disclosure the nonimmigrant/immigrant status sought by third parties who do not have permission from the beneficiary to receive this information’.
He said: ‘To release such information would potentially expose the individual to harm from members of the public who might have a reason to manipulate or harass individuals depending on their status in the United States.’
Making such information public could subject Harry to ‘reasonably foreseeable harm in the form of harassment as well as unwanted contact by the media and others’.
Panter then went on to reject the idea that Harry had been given ‘preferential treatment’.
He wrote: ‘This speculation by (Heritage) does not point to any evidence of government misconduct.
‘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 and applicable rules and regulation.’
If Harry had mentioned his past drug use on his immigration forms when he moved to the US in 2020, the prince could have been denied entry or faced further questioning
The prince has not publicly revealed his status in the US after immigrating in 2020 with his wife Meghan Markle, 43, with whom he has two children
Panter’s declaration also included a seven-page long list of documents that were identified in the case, but all of them were redacted.
Four of the other documents are declarations from records officers at DHS and they have heavy redactions too.
The sixth document is a partial transcript of an in camera hearing from April 30, 2024 in which both sides discuss the case.
There is a fleeting reference to the musician Sting and another person – it is not clear who.
‘…In whether Prince Harry or Sting or anyone else you can think of who is prominent has a particular visa status,’ one of the documents says.
The files were released following a U-turn by Judge Carl Nichols, who sits in Washington and is overseeing the case.
In September, Nichols refused the request from Heritage to release all the documents because the Duke had a right to privacy.
But after a hearing he reconsidered and said he wanted to reveal the ‘maximum amount’ that he could.
The released documents include a declaration from Jarrod Panter, chief FOIA officer at DHS, who said that the agency determined it was not possible to release ‘any portion’ of Harry’s records as anyone with a familiarity with immigration law could easily determine Harry’s status
The case has led to speculation that Donald Trump might kick Harry out of the country as the President said last year he ‘wouldn’t protect him’.
But last month Trump changed his tune and said he wouldn’t deport Harry – because his wife is ‘terrible’.
Speaking to the New York Post, the President said he was giving Harry a break because ‘he’s got enough problems with his wife’.
Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation – the Washington think tank which is behind the legal fight to get Harry’s visa documents made public – spoke exclusively to DailyMail.com following the document release on Tuesday.
‘These documents do not in any way alter the big picture which is that Harry’s visa application needs to be released to the American public in full,’ he said.
‘The American public deserves to know how he entered the country and if he did so legally.
Trump previously said he was giving Harry a break because ‘he’s got enough problems with his wife’ (Harry pictured with Meghan)
‘The documents are so heavily redacted by the Biden-era Department of Homeland Security they offer no answers at all.
‘I believe these documents will only reinforce calls for the release of the full Harry visa file.
‘The American public deserves to see Harry’s records if there is nothing to hide.
‘These documents were written under Joe Biden’s administration and offer a complete lack of transparency and accountability.
‘President Trump’s administration has consistently promised transparency and accountability, especially on the subject of immigration,’ he continued.
‘There is a very strong possibility, in my view, that the Trump administration will release Harry’s visa file in a full, unredacted and complete way.’
