Reason why Prince Harry’s recently unsealed visa records aren’t what people expected

Prince Harry’s visa records were unsealed yesterday after a US court ordered the documents to be made public.

A judge ordered the release of the royal’s immigration files as part of a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, following allegations from the Heritage Foundation - a conservative think tank based in Washington, DC – which shared concerns that Harry may not have told the full truth when he applied for his visa.

The accusations stem from comments made in Harry’s 2023 memoir Spare, in which he recalled trying cocaine for the first time at the age of 17.

"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.

While cocaine ‘didn’t do anything’ for him, he found that marijuana was ‘different’.

“That actually really did help me,” Harry explained.

Harry discussed previous drug use in his memoir, Spare (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

All applications for visas to live in the US ask about historical drug use, with applicants running the risk of having their case rejected if they admit to anything.

If you don't tell the truth, as Harry is accused of doing, people face a lifetime ban on entering the country.

This has naturally led to the question of whether Harry disclosed the information shared in his book.

Many had hoped that his unsealed visa records would provide the answer, but they have been left disappointed after realising they are heavily redacted.

The documents released are merely supporting declarations and court transcripts created for the Heritage Foundation’s case, but there is no confirmation of what Harry put forward on his immigration form.

It seems the public haven’t got what they were expecting, with one tweeting: “Harry’s visa documents were released-they’re compelling! Just kidding. They’re fully redacted.”

Someone else said: “So Harry’s visa application was heavily redacted so releasing it was a bit of a p*ss take and no one is any wiser as to what was declared."

However, Jarrod Panter, a chief freedom of information officer within the US Department for Homeland Security (DHS), argues in the unsealed documents that the release of Harry’s actual visa documents could lead to ‘harm’ for the royal.

Prince Harry with wife Meghan Markle (Instagram/@meghan)

The declaration, submitted to the court in April last year, said: “The USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) routinely protects from disclosure the non-immigrant/immigrant status sought by third parties who do not have permission from the beneficiary to receive this information.

“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.”

It added: “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.”

Panter also said there was no evidence that Harry had received any preferential treatment, explaining: "Plaintiffs allege that the records should be disclosed as public confidence in the government would suffer or to establish whether the Duke was granted preferential treatment. This speculation by plaintiffs does not point to any evidence of government misconduct."