Since moving permanently to the United States of America in June 2020 alongside his American-born wife Meghan Markle, Prince Harry has been residing in the country on a visa.
However, following the publication of his memoir Spare in 2023, there has been a concentrated effort to have the Duke of Sussex’s visa records unsealed and his visa status re-examined.
Scroll on for everything you need to know about Prince Harry’s US visa, and whether he will actually be deported from the country.
Heavily redacted copies of Prince Harry’s visa records have been made public
On the 18th March 2025 US time, the US Department of Homeland Security released redacted versions of Prince Harry’s immigration records.
According to a court filing on 15th March, the US Department of Homeland Security was ordered to release the redacted versions of the Duke of Sussex’s US visa application no later than this date.
The redacted versions of Prince Harry’s records show that Prince Harry did not receive special treatment during his immigration process.
According to the ABC, in one of the documents the agency stated:
“This speculation by Plaintiffs does not point to any evidence of government misconduct.”
“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, 8 U.S.C. § 1103 and applicable rules and regulations.”
According to the court filing, his full, unredacted documents could not be released as they would open the Duke up to harm and harassment.
“To release his exact status could subject him to reasonably foreseeable harm in the form of harassment as well as unwanted contact by the media and others,” the court filing says.
“The Duke of Sussex has not consented to disclosure of his records to Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs have not proven sufficient public interest to outweigh the Duke’s right to privacy concerning any other potential CBP records about him that may or may not exist.”
Does Prince Harry have a US visa?
Prince Harry is currently assumed to be on an A-Head of State visa. This visa is given to officials who are serving at a foreign embassy, consulate, or office providing consular assistance in the United States.
The A-1 visa will be valid for his entire titled life, meaning that unless the Royal Family strips him of his title as Duke of Sussex, he will be able to remain living and working in the USA without obtaining a green card or becoming a permanent resident.
Why would Prince Harry’s US visa be revoked?
In his best-selling memoir Spare, Prince Harry admitted to experimenting with multiple illicit drugs such as cocaine, magic mushrooms, and marijuana.
Following the publication of Spare, the Heritage Foundation – a conservative think tank based in Washington, DC – confirmed it would be launching a legal dispute against the State Department after it refused them access to Harry’s visa application to see if he declared his history of drug use in his visa application.
When the legal dispute was first launched, Director of the Heritage Foundation Mike Howell told The Herald Sun that “Prince Harry either lied on his application, which can be rejected over drug use or that he received special treatment as a royal and celebrity, which would be illegal.”
In response, a spokesperson from the State Department said at the time that visa records were confidential and therefore, “details of individual visa cases” could not be discussed.
In June 2023, the Department of Homeland Security denied a Freedom of Information Act request made by the Heritage Foundation.
“To the extent records exist, this office does not find a public interest in disclosure sufficient to override the subject to override the subject’s privacy interests,” DHS Senior Director Jimmy Wolfrey wrote at the time.
Director of the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, Niles Gardiner referred to the ruling as “appalling.”
“[The DHS response] shows an appalling lack of transparency by the Biden Administration,” and that “the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to stonewall the Heritage Foundation’s Freedom of Information request are unacceptable, and we will be contesting their position.”
Niles continued, claiming: “There are only three possible ways in which the Duke of Sussex could have entered the United States on a visa: (1) Prince Harry disclosed the full extent of his drug use and received a waiver; (2) DHS blatantly ignored the law; or (3) there is a privacy interest in perjury.”
“Ultimately the release of Prince Harry’s US immigration records will be decided in federal court by a federal judge. We are determined to prevail in a matter of clear public interest, on an important issue that matters to the American people: the application and enforcement of America’s immigration laws without fear or favor,” he concluded.
In 2024, The Heritage Foundation took legal action against the US government after their Freedom of Information Act request for Prince Harry’s visa was denied, claiming that the royal’s answers in his visa application regarding his prior drug use should be made public.
What has President Donald Trump said about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle?
Despite pressure to revoke Prince Harry’s US visa, President Donald Trump revealed on the 8th of February 2025 that he had no plans to deport the Duke of Sussex from the country.
“I don’t want to do that. I’ll leave him alone. He’s got enough problems with his wife. She’s terrible,” he told New York Post reporters.
