The Government Witness's Travel Document: The Government Witness Parole
Often government witnesses to criminal or terrorist acts have a taint on them that makes them ineligible to travel to the United States. How then do government witnesses travel to the United States to appear in court or to help an investigation? Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's renewed summons to be a witness for the US Congress provides a case to talk about a rare travel document - the government witness parole. A diplomatic visa is no longer likely possible for him, after the February 2022 settlement with a Jeffrey Epstein victim, Virginia Guiffre.
Summoned to Testify by Congress
On 7 November 2025, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor (formerly Prince Andrew) was summoned to the US Congress with a formal letter asking that he respond by 20 November 2025. He appears to have ignored the summons, but a member of Congress warned that the issue will not “just go away.”[1] He was summoned by the 16-member House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, who is investigating the sex-trafficking operations of Jeffrey Epstein. They would question Andrew during a transcribed interview “to understand the extent of [Mr. Epstein’s] criminal operations.” [2] The request is not a subpoena compelling testimony. It is not a request for extradition. Extradition is used to ask someone to stand trial or serve a sentence in the requesting country.
When further Epstein files were released by the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in January 2026, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer renewed the call for Andrew to testify before the US Congress. "I have always said anybody who has got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they are asked to do that. You can’t be victim-centred if you’re not prepared to do that.”[3]
History of Potential Criminal Conduct Settled Out of Civil Court
On 30 October 2025, Buckingham Palace released an official statement censuring Andrew and removing his Style, Titles and Honors. [4] This action followed civil court proceedings which Andrew faced for alleged sexual assault and connection to Jeffery Epstein. In 2021, Virginia Guiffre sued him for personal injury in US federal court, in the Southern District of New York– under New York’s Child Victims Act – which extended the statute of limitations for such cases. After a payment from Andrew rumored to be as much as GB£12 million[5], the case was settled in February 2022.
Travel to the US as a Government Witness?
There's no public record of Andrew returning to the United States since visiting Jeffrey Epstein in New York in December 2010. He may have realized that he committed crimes in the United States and took advice not to return. It is not known whether there is a criminal investigation ongoing in the US, but fear of that could keep Andrew from traveling to the United States for holidays or to visit friends. Certainly return to the US to face a Congressional inquiry would be mortifying. Also, he may have lost his ability to travel on the diplomatic visa that he likely held through 2010.
Given the calls for him to testify in Congress about Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew may be thinking about travel to the US and whether he could do it safely. Andrew may sign an agreement to testify in person as a cooperating government witness. In the agreement, he would hope to be assured of not being prosecuted. He could then travel to the US on a visa or on a permission to travel called a parole, issued just for testifying in Congress.
Government Witness Parole
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency facilitates parole requests from government agencies like the FBI and the US Department of Justice. Paroles can be issued for expert witnesses, who might otherwise be ineligible to enter the United States. ICE coordinates with the consulate local to the witness, like the London US Embassy, to authorize the parole. The witness would be watched carefully while in the US, and leave the country immediately following their testimony.
Andrew Likely Has Been Dropped from the British Foreign Office’s Diplomatic Visa List
If a government witness can obtain a normal visa, they can also travel on that. Andrew Mountbatten Windsor traveled on an A-1 Head of State visa on prior trips due to his proximity to the British throne, but that likely changed after February 2022 and his settlement with Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Guiffre.
Diplomatic Visa Unlikely: Andrew Is Still in Line for the Throne, but Probably Thrown Off the Diplomatic Rolls.
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor remains eighth in line for the British throne, unless an Act of Parliament decides otherwise. [7] He would usually still be able to obtain an A-1 Head of State visa as a member of a royal family. His settlement with Virginia Guiffre in February 2022 however likely knocked him off the diplomatic rolls.
A-1 Head of State visas holders are subject to lower security vetting by the US visa issuance officers. A-1 Head of State visa applicants are not vetted for criminal acts. But applicant names must be put forward by a foreign ministry through their diplomatic visa request lists. Andrew breached a code of trust for those who use diplomatic visas. The code requires them to respect the laws of the countries to which they travel. Diplomats have diplomatic immunity under various agreements between countries, but they should not use that diplomatic immunity to break laws.[8] They appear to have a "one bite of the apple" policy, and a good diplomatic corps and foreign service will remove someone from their diplomatic visa request lists, if they appear to have dangerous tendencies and are under investigation for a serious crime. After the February 2022 settlement, Andrew was likely taken off the diplomatic visa request rolls.
If he applied for a visitor visa outside of the diplomatic visa context, it could mean a denial, with a consular officer finding him ineligible under INA section 214(b) due to fear that a dangerous behavior could repeat and end in a visa status violation. A finding of vague ineligibility for not qualifying for a visa under INA section 214(b) has been used consistently by the US Embassy in London since June 2025, even where there is a low level fear of criminal behavior occurring while traveling in the US - after a visitor visa applicant has any brushes with law enforcement or out of court settlement involving serious harm to another person, a controlled substance violation, or public intoxication or drink driving (DUI/ DWI).
Andrew’s Potential Travel to the United States
The British Foreign Office is not likely to continue to recommend him to the US State Department for a diplomatic visa. He could also be brought to the US to testify under a parole program for witnesses to crimes. He would have trouble getting most other visas due to the 2022 federal case settlement.
Footnotes
[1] Harry Cockburn, The Independent, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor fails to respond to summons to testify before US Congress, (21 November 2025).
[2] Mattea Bubalo and Aoife Walsh, BBC, Democrats in US Congress ask Andrew to appear for questioning over Epstein links (7 November 2025).
[3] Pippa Crerar and Geraldine McKelvie, The Guardian, Keir Starmer calls on Andrew to testify in US over Jeffrey Epstein links (31 January 2026).
[4] The website of the Royal Household, Statement from Buckingham Palace (30 October 2025).
[5] Geraldine McKelvie and Sammy Gecsoyler, The Guardian, York MP calls on royal family to explain source of £12m Virginia Giuffre payment (18 October 2025).
[6] “A nonimmigrant alien who presents a diplomatic passport or its equivalent shall, if otherwise qualified, be eligible to receive a diplomatic visa,” and this specifically includes “members of a reigning royal family.” 22 CFR §41.26. Prince Harry is a likely A-1 Head of State visa holder and enjoys related diplomatic tax benefits. Prince Harry has no criminal record. He admitted to thinking that he used controlled substances in his memoir Spare, which led to Freedom of Information Act related court proceeding in the US to try to reveal his visa applications to the public.
[7] Stephen Castle, The New York Times: What’s Next for Andrew After He Loses His Royal Titles? (31 October 2025); Tim Sigsworth et al., The Telegraph: Met told to open new Andrew investigation (1 November 2025).
[8] See US Department of State Website, Privileges and Immunities (discussing the Duty to Respect Laws) (available on the World Wide Web 1 February 2026).