Need advice on US law especially related to the divorce and immigration?

[sweetdreamssss]

So I'm writing a story where one part lies with a wife on H4 visa complains about the domestic abuse from her husband who is working on a H1B visa and demands divorce.

I need some doubts regarding how it works and also her legal status post the verdict.

If anyone can help contribute, please ping me separately so that we can discuss.

 

[sweetdreamssss]

CFBR

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Not being a US immigration or divorce lawyer, all I can suggest is that you get in touch with the US Department of Immigration and Citizenship. Good luck.

 

[PennameWombat]

Start here: H4 Abused Spouse options. This article provides a decent overview of the options and process. Based on the Google response, this issue appears common enough that plenty of legal firms seem to have it on the radar. But that also means that USCIS might treat such applications with some wariness, and a key would be the ability to provide evidence and documentation of the abuse.

There are lots of provisos and options going the I-765 route. The USCIS pages are, uh, well, the usual confusion.

Note: I'm not a lawyer and this info is provided only for the purpose of fiction. I have dealt extensively with the immigration rules of two different countries for personal purposes, so the above meshes with my general understandings. But this situation is not one I'm personally familiar with.

 

[Seadog777]

Divorce Laws are different depending on the State in which you reside.
I do not know much about Immigration Law, so I have no information to help.

 

[sweetdreamssss]

Thank you Penname Wombat.

https://www.literotica.com/series/se/151777429

This is the series I'm writing and I want a good end to her where the husband gets punished and the wife stays back in USA. While i'm not too keen to be right to specifics, I just want dont want to make it sound too outlandish where the wife stays in USA while the husband gets prison and deportation

 

[PennameWombat]

Thank you Penname Wombat.

https://www.literotica.com/series/se/151777429

This is the series I'm writing and I want a good end to her where the husband gets punished and the wife stays back in USA. While i'm not too keen to be right to specifics, I just want dont want to make it sound too outlandish where the wife stays in USA while the husband gets prison and deportation

Divorce is complicated. Immigration is complicated. Combining the two… it all depends on how deep down the rabbit hole you want.

First off. Per my earlier posting, it’s quite possible the (ex) wife would be able to remain in the US. How is a question, and how much detail you want to include is one of those ‘writerly’ questions that we all get to fight with in some form.

The I-765 process is where she has an H4 and that would be an application to be granted her own work authorisation, not one connected to the H1B. But, that would likely require her to have a job or skill that makes employment a reasonable possibility. If she’s ‘trapped’ at home, has little education and isn’t working at the time of divorce, that’s going to hard to argue for. If she has an education or has training in a employable trade, more likely. Refer back to the article I linked to and its references for the process around this.

With divorce, in the US divorce is purely a state issue (while immigration is federal). Every state in the US has its own rules on divorce, but all of them would allow divorce on grounds of abuse. But a key is residency. Every state requires you to have ‘residency‘ established before you can file for divorce - in California you need to reside for six months and in your current county for at least three months. But when it comes to abuse allegations, different states will have different levels of evidence required. Also, so long as the marriage was ‘legal’ in its home country, it’ll be recognised in California, and they’ll adjudicate and grant a divorce. She’ll need documentation of the marriage, but that was likely part of the H1B/H4 process. She would need to file for divorce, then the process depends on whether he fights it or agrees to it.

Prison is… tough. The levels of when abuse would be actionable for police action and prosecution will differ, but would almost certainly require physical abuse. This would require her to go to the police (and them to take her seriously, not guaranteed). Were he to be prosecuted an convicted, he’d serve time in the US and would likely be deported at the end of his sentence. But, it’s getting to that point.

Referring back to my first paragraph, without employable skills, she’d likely also be deported. Although, and this is getting way to the edge of my understanding, she could potentially apply for refugee status, especially if she could make a case that her ex-husband’s family would threaten or kill her should she return to her native country. If they’d sent threatening letters/emails, that would help her case. This would be a different process than the H4/I-765 process, but if there are threats of harm she could include those in an I-765 filing.

She would almost certainly need a lawyer (or multiple ones.) IMHO, the most believable way might be that if she’s in an area where there is a relatively large South Asian expatriate population (I’m not sure if desi is offensive or not to use here…) then she could get in touch with an aid organisation formed to ‘assist’ such abused spouses. This organisation (there might be real ones like this, you could look around) would have contacts to lawyers with appropriate knowledge.

 

[sweetdreamssss]

Thanks for all ur advice...
I need some more granular details. Please PM me for that.

 

[sweetdreamssss]

CFBR again

 

[jsmiam]

Have her IN grad school early, then finishing it midstream, getting a great job at the end for a company that she knows sponsors people.

Also, don’t post in “loving wives.”

Tip: on YouTube, search and watch all the “Debbie downer” Saturday night live skits. To each their own, but the story sounds TDDR (too depressing didn’t read) and one to listen to “Gloomy Sunday” on repeat while reading (YouTube also. Covered hundreds of times.)

 

[NoTalentHack]

Have her IN grad school early, then finishing it midstream, getting a great job at the end for a company that she knows sponsors people.

Also, don’t post in “loving wives.”

Tip: on YouTube, search and watch all the “Debbie downer” Saturday night live skits. To each their own, but the story sounds TDDR (too depressing didn’t read) and one to listen to “Gloomy Sunday” on repeat while reading (YouTube also. Covered hundreds of times.)

I’ll offer the opposite opinion: it sounds exactly like something I want to read, if treated with care.

 

[NoTalentHack]

Thanks for all ur advice...
I need some more granular details. Please PM me for that.

I’d suggest that you don’t need to worry TOO much about the details, as long as it feels realistic. Do the best you can, and don’t let facts get in the way of a good story, unless they would obviously be wrong. You’re not writing a legal brief.

 

[Trionyx]

I’d suggest that you don’t need to worry TOO much about the details, as long as it feels realistic. Do the best you can, and don’t let facts get in the way of a good story, unless they would obviously be wrong. You’re not writing a legal brief.

Agree. And it’s fiction, right?