For many, securing a visa to live and work in the United States is quite the difficult process—it can take years for some, and for many, it never happens at all. However, when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle dropped their royal duties and moved to California, Prince Harry seemed to have no trouble acquiring a visa, a fact that conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation is apparently not willing to accept.
The organization filed a lawsuit against the US government demanding that Harry’s visa documents be published publicly, claiming that the former royal‘s admittance of drug use in his memoir, Spare, should bar him from obtaining a visa. The case, however, was settled quietly in court. Keep reading for more information.
Think Tank Sues The US Government Over Prince Harry's Visa Status
The Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C., based think tank whose mission is "to build and promote conservative public policies," according to their website," seems to have a bone to pick with Prince Harry. Earlier this year, they filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, demanding that Prince Harry's visa documents be published publicly.
The think tank published a statement in Newsweek: "Prince Harry repeatedly admitted to using illegal drugs in his memoir," Kyle Brosnan, chief counsel, said. "This fact alone makes him inadmissible into the United States. We sued to get answers to a simple question of whether the government gave Prince Harry preferential treatment when he entered the country." However, it seems this question was never answered.
Prince Harry's Visa Status Lawsuit Dismissed
Court records show that the case was terminated on September 9th. It was heard in Washington, D.C. before Judge Carl J. Nichols, and other than those two pieces of information, there's very little known about why the case was brought to an end or what it means for Prince Harry's visa status.
Lawyers for the US Government, however, argued in an earlier court filing that they "cannot confirm or deny whether any other records that [Heritage] are seeking exist because the mere acknowledgement of these records would constitute an unwarranted invasion of Prince Harry's privacy." And we all know how Prince Harry feels about his privacy...
"Courts consistently hold that a person's visa or immigration status is private, personal information exempt from disclosure," lawyers closed with.
