HI
Maybe a common question.
My wife and I separated last May (2016) as we had a fall out. she did not want to continue living with me anymore.
she is currently on my H4 visa. she has an EAD and we both work at the same workplace. she does not intend to come back to me.
she is changing her status to F1B. Expecting her change of status to happen by Jan 2018. I want to know if I can get a divorce in the USA.
This is because her university is not that great, so she getting an F1 stamping is under risk and I personally do not want to go to India and get it done as it is a time taking process.
Please advise. thank you.
So sorry to hear about this. If you were married in India, your civil union is under jurisdiction of Hindu Marriage Act 1955 and a divorce can be effective only if adjudicated in that country. Do try to avoid undue hardship to your wife and I hope your separation is not because of irreconcilable differences and that you guys actually might be able to resolve matters through a marriage counselor.
If it is a mutual consent, and you both are sure that you wont contest each other in future, you both can file for divorce here in USA and get it done quickly than India. And Indian courts accept this if this is a mutual consent.
It becomes an problem, if one of the spouse contests the divorce. The India courts will not accept the divorce granted by foreign courts in such cases. Indian courts expect you to go through the process in India, get the divorce as per the Hindu marriages Act.