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Raman ( )     29 June 2009

Divorce case - USA

Hi,

I saw a Divorce case in which the victim happened to be a friend of my wife:
 
A couple (Mech. Engineers) from Kerala, married in 2000 and had come to Nashville, TN, USA.
Husband(H) was on H-1B which is a work visa and wife(W) was on H4 which is a dependant visa that can not be used for employment. H has been working as a Network Administrator, IT in the same company where I am employed currently. As per my knowledge, their marital life has been gone into pieces while H is more engrossed into his personal business which is selling products of  'quixtar' which is similar to 'amway' in India. Please see the link:
 
https://www.corporatenarc.com/quixtar.php
 
Though I have known him since 2002, somehow I avoided him due to personal reasons.
In 2005, W left H and living on her own at her friend's place who provided her a petty job (no tax records). H never attempted to bring her back or not even considered a reconcialiation until 2008. We all came to know about this in the year 2008, then tried to help them for about an year. A matter of fact, H tried to talk to her very frequently as per our suggestions, that didn't work. We made them meet couple of times for lunch/dinner that too didn't work. In fact, W never revealed her whereabouts to any one, other than her emailID & Phone#.
 
At a later time, We learned from W that the cause of this mess-up is due to the domestic violence. Very often, W was used to be threatened by H that if she didn't use his company products
instead of Coke drink (W's favorite drink) then he would cancel her status in the USA. I know it is absurd to hear but that was one of his misdeeds. Oneday, H slapped W while pressing on her throat against a wall, giving a reason that W is not participating in his business to expand. That was the night W dared to leave the place with the help of COPS and never returned and also never thought about the consequences.
 
A couple of days ago, surprisingly H took couple of witnesses to the court where he was granted divorce on the ground that his wife diserted him for more than two years. All H spent at the attorney was just $500 which is considered as a cheap deal in the USA. Later, I came to know through witnesses that H had given an advertisement in cheap news paper which normally nobody prefers to read, for about two months. Of course, it was a thought of H's attorney.
 
Now, W's status is nothing in the USA. Anytime, the INS (immigration people) may send her back to India. W doesn't have any money with her. She is in complete helpless situation, propping up her hopes on my little knowledge in Indian Law.
 
My question on behalf of her is:
 
Is there any venue where she can file S.498 case or can she contest the case from India expecting any alimony or finacial support from H, at this stage ?
 
Please advice me, it will be a great help for her.
 
If my explanation is not up to your standards, please forgive me.  Thank you.


Learning

 4 Replies

A V Vishal (Advocate)     29 June 2009

In my opinion, since H & W are legally divorced as pr the laws in U.S, W cannot at this stage file a petition u/s.498A, since the section reads "498A. Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty.
Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.
However since they are divorced, the relation of Husband and wife has ceased to exist. Further, the details of the judgement are also imprtant to consider the grounds for grant of divorce by the court. 

aatma   30 June 2009

Raman,

1. Ask that lady to contact nearest indian consulate for help - indian government allots lakhs of rupees every budget to indian consulates in abroad to help these kind of 'real' victims to go back to india and assist to file complaint.

2. Husband is on H1 visa, he supposed to work for the visa sponsor only. He is doing other business illegally. It is against US immigration and IRS  laws.

3. Wife also doing some petty work in H4 visa -  this is against US immigration and IRS  laws.

4. Both of these people are doing some illegal jobs, crime against US.   It is better to send both of  them  to india. Some lawyer will help her/him in india for their legal battle in court to solve their marital issues. 

5. What happened to their parents. Why they did not involve so far to solve this issue.

6. Greedy  engineer violates the US laws and make his and her life as hell.

Legal Fighter (Advocate)     30 June 2009

she can't file 498a or domestic violence at this stage.

Raman ( )     30 June 2009

  1. That's a good idea ...
  2. 'H' is now on 485 status which is almost like Greencard, so he can accept any number of jobs. It is not illegal at all.
  3. 'W's status now supposed to be 485 too, after losing her H4 status, but he never   provided her the documents. It's like driving a car w/o license ... She found a job where the payment is made in cash. Yeah, it is sort of illegal .....
  4. This is where I really need to understand on how a lawyer in India can help them when their marriage has already come to an end ?
  5. She was many times tempted to go for S.498-A, but scared of leaving her lonely Parents, in India. 
  6. He is completely brain washed by 'Quixtar' people ... Of course, it is none of my business.

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