US refuses to release 18 documents on Prince Harry's immigration case
The US State Department has declined to release 18 documents related to Prince Harry as a dispute continues over his visa file and past admitted drug use. Nearly 2,500 pages of additional material remain under review, with no public release expected soon.
The dispute over documents held by the US government relating to the Duke of Sussex has taken a new turn, after the State Department announced that 18 records linked to the prince will not be released and remain withheld in full.
The update emerged in a joint status report filed with a US District Court for the District of Columbia. According to the filing, the State Department completed its first interim review of documents on July 30, identifying 18 records matching the request — none of which will be disclosed.
Hundreds of documents still under review
At the same time, the department is reviewing a far larger set of material — 307 documents spanning roughly 2,487 pages. There is currently no indication that this material will become publicly available anytime soon.
The case stems from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request concerning documents related to Prince Harry, whose full name is Henry Charles Albert David. Interest in his immigration records was originally sparked by his own public statements about past drug use, which he described in his memoir "Spare."
Think tank's ongoing pursuit
The conservative Heritage Foundation previously sought the release of Harry's visa documents, arguing the public has a right to know whether the prince accurately disclosed his past drug use to US immigration authorities. Judge Carl Nichols ruled at the time that Harry's right to privacy outweighed the public interest in disclosure.
Following that setback, Heritage Foundation filed a new lawsuit in 2025, this time against the State Department directly, seeking other documents related to the prince rather than the visa application materials themselves. The organization wants to determine whether Harry's past drug use could have affected his right to enter or remain in the US, and whether the information provided in his immigration paperwork was accurate.
The prospect that Harry's actual visa documents will ever be fully disclosed is still considered unlikely, as court rulings so far have repeatedly emphasized the duke's right to privacy. Prince Harry has lived in the US with his wife, Meghan Markle, since 2020. Sources close to him have previously said he provided truthful information when submitting his documents to US authorities.
