US government lawyers have cited a privacy case involving Donald Trump as a basis for withholding details about Prince Harry’s immigration status. The Heritage Foundation, a Washington DC think tank, has sued the Biden administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), seeking information about the visa Harry used to enter The US aims to determine whether Harry received preferential treatment due to his confessions of drug use in his autobiography, Replacement.
During a court hearing in Washington in February, DHS referenced a Trump case to justify its denial. DHS attorney John Bardo explained that the case involved a request for records of interactions between Trump and the FBI before 2015, when Trump was a private citizen.
Bardo argued that the court had determined that Trump’s privacy interests outweighed the public interest. Given this precedent, he argued that if Trump, as a private citizen, had a privacy interest in such matters, Harry’s privacy interest should be even greater, considering he never held government office or appeared on a ballot in the US. USA
“There is a much greater public interest in an interaction with a potential elected official than a member of the royal family of a foreign country,” Bardo said. Recent reports suggest that Prince Harry may have entered the United States on a rare diplomatic visa category.
Last month, London-based American immigration lawyer Melissa Chavin speculated that Harry could have an ‘A-1 Head of State’ visa, a designation used by heads of state and members of the royal family, since who is fifth in line to the throne.
“It’s just extremely special,” he told daily mail. “And the security control is not the same. It’s a lower security check. It is a visa, especially for members of royal families. For an A-1 Head of State visa, the security and background check questions are not the same as for most visa applicants. “They are only examined for espionage, terrorism and activities contrary to the foreign policy of the United States.”
The A-1 ‘Head of State’ visa is distinguished from the A-1 visa, which is intended for high-ranking diplomats. A-1 visa holders, such as ambassadors, are expected to come to the United States to work in a diplomatic capacity. However, an A-1 ‘Head of State’ visa allows its holder to enter the US without necessarily working as a head of state or member of the royal family.
Under US visa policy, applicants are asked about past substance use, which Harry candidly admitted in his memoir. According The independent, wrote: “Psychedelics did me some good too. He had experimented with them over the years, for fun, but now he had begun using them therapeutically, for medicinal purposes. “They didn’t let me just escape reality for a while.”
Harry has resided in the United States since 2020, living in a nine-bedroom mansion in Montecito, California, with his wife Meghan Markle and their two children. In March, Trump hinted at the possibility of Harry being deported under his leadership. Speaking to TV presenter Nigel Farage on GB News, Trump suggested the royals would not receive “special privileges”.