The Heritage Foundation is suing the Department of Homeland Security, demanding Prince Harry’s US visa application be made public, but a royal expert doesn’t think it’s all that serious, that the conservative think-tank is “making some good mischief on this.”
The same request was made in June 2023, under the Freedom of Information Act and the DHS said “no,” because the information is considerd cofidential and protected and doens’t fall under FOIA request.
And, now here we are again, The Heritage Foundation is trying a second time, suing the DHS, with the court case kicking off at 2:30pm (EST) in Washington DC today. The judge preciding over the case will decide whether or not the DHS is obliged to release this information or if Harry’s private information is protected by law
Royal expert and commentator Rafe Heydel-Mankoo appeared on GB News, saying, “Legal opinions are divided on this, but The Heritage Foundation is making some good mischief on this.”
“I’d be surprised if it went any further than this.”
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According to TIME magazine, “critics have dismissed the lawsuit as political theater,” suggesting it’s not all that serious, but even so, it is going to trial, and there could be some penalties for the prince, suggests Mr Heydel-Mankoo.
“It may not actually apply to his current visa, but actually, it could apply to his chances of renewing his visa,” says the royal expert.
It’s not clear what kind of visa Harry has, which is part of the DHS’s defense, that that in itself is private information.
The DHS argues in document submitted in court: “The mere acknowledgement of these records would constitute an unwarranted invasion of Prince Harry’s privacy.”
It continued: “The records are particularly sensitive because releasing them, even in part, would reveal Prince Harry’s status in the United States, which Prince Harry has not disclosed.
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Mr Heydel-Mankoo makes a guesstimate: “We don’t know what visa he’s actually there under, possibly a spousal visa, but there’s another visa, an O-1 visa, and if I were The Heritage Foundation, I would also actually be challenging that.”
“The O-1 visa is granted to people, who have demonstrated extraordinary ability in the sciences, the arts, education, business, and athletics, and some of us might be wondering quite where, Prince Harry’s extraordinary abilities lie out of that group of talents.”
