Prince Harry is urged to reveal how he answered the drug question on his US visa application

Prince Harry has been urged to be “completely transparent” and reveal details of his US visa application or risk becoming a “political pawn” over his past drug use.

US immigration authorities have until April 12 to respond to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request filed by a leading US think tank seeking to determine how the Duke of Sussex could be allowed entry into the states after an open admission using a variety of materials. In the past, including marijuana, cocaine, and magic mushrooms.

Under US law, anyone applying for a visa to live and work in America is required to check the box to answer “yes” or “no” to the question: “Are you or have you ever been a drug addict or addict?”

In his controversial memoir Spear and in a “therapy session” with toxic trauma expert Dr Gabor Mattei to promote his book last month, Harry admitted to using psychedelic drugs.

It included the Amazonian hallucinogenic plant ayahuasca, the effect of which was described as “cleaning windshields, removing the filters of life.”

But under US law, admitting to drug use usually leads to a person being denied entry to the US, as happened in the case of chef Nigella Lawson and the late singer Amy Winehouse.

The immigration issue is expected to become one of the main points of the 2024 presidential election, as Republicans attack President Joe Biden over his lax border controls. There are concerns that Harry’s friendships with prominent figures in the Democratic Party such as former President Barack Obama and major Democratic donors including Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry could make him an “unwitting pawn in a highly political game”.

Last night, in an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday, senior attorney Samuel Dewey at conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, which filed a 127-page FoI request to see Duke’s request, said: ‘It’s in the public interest to find out how Prince Harry answered the question. drugs.

If he was honest and open about his drug use, and there was no reason to believe he wasn’t, he likely ticked the “yes” box, in which case he would need a visa waiver to enter the United States.

This meant that he had to be interviewed in person and someone had to give him a concession. We simply ask who granted this waiver.

There is a history of authorities issuing immigration documents on public figures.

The USCIS website has an electronic reading room containing the immigration profiles of people like Shyamala Gopalan Harris, mother of US Vice President Kamala Harris, George Michael and John Lennon.

Other celebrities whose files are open to the public include Canadian-born Superman actress Margot Kidder and British actress Lynn Redgrave.

In his controversial memoir Spear and in a ‘therapy session’ with toxic trauma expert Dr Gabor Mattei to promote his book last month, Harry admitted to using narcotic drugs

Mr Dewey added: “Admitting to using drugs does not automatically keep you from going forever.

There is a waiver process and many people get a waiver on a case-by-case basis. If Prince Harry got a waiver, who authorized it? Was the correct protocol followed? It’s something the American people deserve to know.

The ban is often lifted after a personal interview at the US Consulate or official immigration office, where a waiver can be issued.

In 2014, Ms. Lawson was denied entry to the United States after she admitted during a court case to taking cocaine, although she told the judge: ‘I’ve never been addicted to drugs. I have never been a regular user. She was later granted a visa after being interviewed at the US Embassy in London, while Winehouse was denied entry twice because of her drug use.

‘There is no indication that Prince Harry did anything wrong,’ Dewey said, ‘and if he did get a concession, he may not have been aware of any political strings that might have been pulled, if indeed they were. But there is a danger that he could become an unwitting pawn in an issue that has become a political hot potato.

Reports in the US indicated that Harry was accepted with an “O” visa – given to people of extraordinary ability.

Neil Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation, said: “This is a much bigger issue than Prince Harry’s. It’s about enforcing immigration law and making sure no one is above the law. Prince Harry is simply the tip of the iceberg.”

There are many who believe that under President Biden, immigration laws have become lax and are not being properly implemented. Prince Harry has spoken openly about his drug use and has done so for commercial and financial gain, selling books. In our opinion, there is no reason for privacy here.

The State Department sought comment on Prince Harry’s immigration status from the US Department of Homeland Security, US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, US Customs and Border Protection, California Border Patrol and Sussex’s Archewell organization. Nobody answered.