Prince Harry's visa details decision labelled 'outrageous' as fast-track bid blocked
A bid to fast-track the release of Prince Harry’s US visa application details using Freedom of Information laws has been blocked.
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A bid to fast-track the release of Prince Harry’s US visa application details using Freedom of Information laws has been blocked.
The request fast-track the release was made on the grounds of exceptional public interest.
The decision to turn the request down has been branded "outrageous" by a senior official at The Heritage Foundation.
The Heritage Foundation, which made the fast-track bid, has now requested a judge to overturn the decision by the Department of Homeland Security and two of its agencies.
Prince Harry did tell US officials about his drug use, according to a source close to the Duke of Sussex.
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A new hearing is expected next month.
The Heritage Foundation demanded the immediate release of Prince Harry's visa records following the Duke of Sussex's admission to taking drugs in his autobiography Spare.
Under US Freedom of Information laws, applications can be fast-tracked if there is "widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exist possible questions about the government’s integrity which affect public confidence".
The Heritage Foundation argued that the Prince Harry case cleared the threshold for it to be fast-tracked but it was turned down because British-based publishers which had demanded answers over the visa application, were not sufficiently mainstream in the US to count.
Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Centre for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation, said: "The Biden administration is clearly stonewalling here and they are trying to avoid releasing any documents.
"They are trying to do so by undermining the credibility of the British Press, which is outrageous, and by concentrating their fire on the British Press even though we have submitted articles in the US press about the same subject."
Harry has publicly admitted to taking multiple drugs, including cocaine, cannabis and magic mushrooms.
Prince Harry did tell US officials about his drug use, according to a source close to the Duke of Sussex.
The Duke of Sussex moved to the US in 2020 alongside his wife Meghan Markle.
PA
The Duke of Sussex moved to the US in 2020 alongside his wife Meghan Markle.
People who emigrate to America are normally given a three-year visa, meaning Harry will need to apply for a new visa, or a Green Card, or citizenship, this year.
An application for a new visa could lead to further scrutiny of the Duke of Sussex's drug use.
US immigration law has harsh penalties for lying to immigration officials, including deportation and being barred from applying for citizenship.