Princess Lilibet would not be considered a US citizenship if Meghan Markle had the same visa as Prince Harry in a “very unusual expectation to the rule”, an American immigration lawyer has said.
Melissa Chavin, who works for the Chavin Immigration Law Office, joined GB News’ Digital Royal Editor Svar Nanan-Sen and Royal Correspondent Cameron Walker on this week’s episode of The Royal Record podcast.
Chavin explained a scenario involving the young princess in light of Prince Harry entering the US on an A1 Head of State visa.
Svar said: “You mentioned earlier that although Prince Harry has a head of state A1 visa, due to Meghan Markle being a US citizen, both Archie and Lilibet will be able to qualify as US citizens.”
Princess Lilibet would not be considered a US citizenship if Meghan Markle had the same visa as Prince Harry
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Going into more detail, Chavin said: “Lilibet is a very interesting case because she was born in the United States.
“If Meghan Markle wasn’t a US citizen and if she had an A1 head of state spousal visa, then Lilibet would be this very unusual exception to the rule that anyone born in the United States is a US citizen.
“It’s a funny thing to think about.”
The Duke of Sussex’s US visa documents are at the centre of a court battle, since he admitted to taking illegal drugs in the UK and America in his memoir Spare.
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Cameron Walker, GB News’ Royal Correspondent, and Svar Nanan-Sen, Royal Editor of GBNews.com, speak to American Immigration Lawyer Melissa Chavin about Prince Harry’s visa
GB News
Chavin said: ‘Lilibet is a very interesting case because she was born in the United States.’
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The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, is taking legal action against the Department of Homeland Security in a bid to force officials to release Harry’s visa documents.
The organisation wants to see if the royal admitted to using illegal drugs before gaining a US visa. Under US law, foreign nationals who have admitted to taking drugs can be turned away at the border and refused a visa.
However, disclosure of previous drug use does not automatically mean immigrants will be banned but they are legally obliged to declare whether they have taken drugs on their visa application.
Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born on June 4, 2021 in California.
Snippets of Lilibet’s previous birthdays can be seen in Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentaryNetflix
The Duke of Sussex’s US visa documents are at the centre of a court battle
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The three-year-old was named after Queen Elizabeth’s family nickname, whilst her middle name, Diana, “was chosen to honour her beloved late grandmother, the Princess of Wales”.
Last weekend, the toddler celebrated her third birthday with a private party at her Montecito home, attended by family and friends.
Her parents have tried to keep herself and her brother Archie, five, out of the limelight ever since they stepped down as working royals and settled in the US.
The only insight into the children’s birthdays the public has seen has been from the Sussexes’ docuseries, Harry & Meghan, released in 2022 on Netflix. In the six-part series, footage from previous parties held for Archie and Lilibet can be seen.