Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, Founder and Patron of the Invictus Games Foundation and Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex. Photo / AFP
Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, Founder and Patron of the Invictus Games Foundation and Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex. Photo / AFP
Prince Harry’s immigration documents have been unsealed after a two-year legal jostle.
In heavily redacted documents released on Tuesday, it was revealed the Duke of Sussex, 40, followed all the “applicable rules and regulations” when he moved to the United States with wife Meghan Markle in 2020.
The Trump administration confirmed Harry did not receive special treatment to enter the US, per a lawyer from the Department of Homeland Security.
While it was previously claimed much of Harry’s visa application would be made public this week via the Freedom of Information Act on an order from Judge Carl Nichols, large chunks of it have been blacked out.
The decision to redact large chunks of his paperwork was made in a bid to protect Harry’s privacy.
A statement in the newly unsealed documents read: “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.
Meghan and Harry live in California. Photo / Instagram
“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 regulations.”
Harry’s visa details being made public came after a lawsuit brought on by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington DC, which questioned whether the prince had lied on his immigration paperwork after he claimed in his 2023 memoir, Spare, he had taken drugs in the past, including cocaine and magic mushrooms.
Admission of drug use can lead to visa applications being rejected.
It raised questions over whether the Duke had been granted special treatment from the Biden administration, a claim refuted in the document release.
Despite the release of the paperwork, it remains unclear whether the prince ticked “no” to drug use.
Conservative think tank Heritage urged a judge to make Harry’s application public.
Judge Nichols initially refused the request to release Harry’s immigration documents, citing privacy issues, though sensationally ordered the “maximum amount” be released earlier this week.
Large parts of the documents have been heavily redacted to protect Harry's privacy.
It officially brings to an end deportation fears for Harry, who lives in the affluent area of Montecito in California with Meghan and their two children, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3.
Further, President Donald Trump last month ruled out deporting Harry regardless of the outcome of the litigation.
“I’ll leave him alone. He’s got enough problems with his wife. She’s terrible,” Trump told reporters.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has been outspoken against Trump in the past.
The former actor backed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, the year she met Harry, and has previously described Trump as “divisive” and a “misogynist”.
