Why Prince Harry’s visa case is back in court again

Athena Stavrou, The Independent

Five months after the matter was seemingly closed, a lawsuit fighting to make Prince Harry’s private US visa records public will reopen in court on Wednesday. The Duke of Sussex admitted he had previously taken drugs during his teenage years in his 2023 book, Spare, prompting a right-wing US think tank to suggest he had lied on his documentation or could have been given special treatment by Joe Biden’s administration. The Heritage Foundation launched a legal battle against Department for Homeland Security (DHS) after a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain his application was rejected, with the think tank claiming it was of “immense public interest”.

In September 2024, the case was closed when a judge ruled that Harry’s application would remain private, as he had a “legitimate privacy interest in his immigration status”. But on Wednesday, the case will be reopened in a federal court in Washington DC — months after the now-president Donald Trump said he “wouldn’t protect” the duke.

Here is an explanation about what the case is about, and why it has not been reopened?

The lawsuit was put forward after Harry admitted to having recreationally used marijuana, cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms in his bestselling memoir Spare. In a passage of the 2023 book — three years after he moved to the US with his wife Meghan Markle — he opened up about his experiences of trying cocaine as a “deeply unhappy 17-year-old boy”. He wrote: “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. Feel. Different.” Application forms for US visas specifically ask about current and past drug use and admitting this can lead to applications being rejected.

The Heritage Foundation argued that the law “generally renders such a person inadmissible for entry” to the US - though immigration officers make final decisions based on a number of factors. In light of Harry’s admission to drug use, the think tank called for the DHS to make his papers public to see whether he had lied on his forms. They also questioned whether Harry was given special treatment by the Biden administration. Harry himself is not directly involved in any of the legal proceedings. The case is being fought between the Heritage Foundation and the US government’s Department for Homeland Security — who manage visa and immigration applications.

After the publication of Spare, the think thank submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain Harry’s documentation — but this was rejected. They then brought a lawsuit to the DHS after claiming the information was of “immense public interest”. In September last year, the case came to a conclusion after a judge ruled Harry’s application would remain private. US judge Carl Nichols ruled that “the public does not have a strong interest in disclosure of the duke’s immigration records”.

“Like any foreign national, the duke has a legitimate privacy interest in his immigration status,” he added. Five months after the his ruling, Judge Nichols has agreed to reopen the case. Lawyers for all parties have been ordered to appear in court for a “motion for relief from judgment” hearing in Washington DC on Wednesday.

Significantly, it is the first time it has been seen in US courts since the Donald Trump’s return to office last month. The US president, who can intervene and ask for the documents to be released, previously warned that Harry could face consequences if he lied about taking drugs on his US visa application.