Prince Harry has been encouraged to clarify how he obtained a US visa and entered the country despite admitting to using drugs such as cocaine, magic mushrooms, and cannabis in his memoir, Spare, and related promotional interviews.
The Duke of Sussex, who moved to California with his wife Meghan Markle and their children in 2020, has been advised to be "totally transparent" about his visa application and his responses to questions to avoid becoming a "political pawn." US law requires anyone applying for a visa to live and work in the country to answer "yes" or "no" to the question, "Are you or have you ever been a drug abuser or addict?"
Celebrities like Nigella Lawson and Amy Winehouse have previously been denied entry to the US after admitting drug use on their visa applications.
The Heritage Foundation, a prominent American think-tank, filed a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, to which US immigration authorities must respond by April 12. The request seeks to uncover how Prince Harry obtained his visa.
Samuel Dewey, a senior lawyer, told The Mail on Sunday, "It is in the public interest to know how Prince Harry answered the drug question."
Dewey continued, "If he has been honest and open about his drug use, and there is no reason to believe he has not been, it could well be that he ticked the 'yes' box, in which case he would need a waiver to be granted a visa to be admitted into the States."
Dewey further explained, "That means he would have had to be interviewed in person and someone would have had to grant him a waiver. We are simply asking who granted that waiver."
