Report: Prince Harry’s drug use admission in new book may have put his U.S. visa in jeopardy

Prince Harry’s new tell-all book, “Spare”, which has made global headlines for its shocking confessions about Harry’s life inside the British royal family, also revealed the prince’s past drug use, potentially jeopardizing his US visa.

The book outlines Harry’s past use of cocaine, mushrooms, and cannabis while in the United States as a teen, as well as his use of cannabis after his first date with Meghan Markle in 2016. According to US immigration law, past or present drug use can be a disqualifying factor in holding a visa in the United States.

Harry and Meghan, after breaking with the British royal family in 2015, are now living in California.

Under US immigration law, if Harry is in the country on an O-1 visa, which grants temporary residence in the US for individuals with extraordinary abilities, his visa status will be reevaluated every three years. If the information in Harry’s new book is found relevant to the review, it may factor into the federal government’s decision on whether to extend the visa.

Harry may also be in the country on a spousal visa after marrying Markle. In either case, if he failed to disclose his former drug use, or lied about it on his visa application, the confessions in his book may result in his visa being revoked. 

“One of the repercussions, whatever visa he has, is that it would be revoked, or he’ll be subject to being revoked [if] he lied in the application process,” said Professor Alberto Benítez of George Washington University to the Telegraph.