I was/am married to an Indian man in India, when I was a missionary & teacher overseas in South Korea. Almost immediately, the emotional/verbal/mental abuse started, & it started getting physical too (he kicked a door, hit the fridge). I was scared...& eventually left him, last March, coming back to the States. For nearly a year (from March to Dec last year), I tried to make our marriage work, putting up with control/emotional/verbal/mental abuse still, as we waited for his visa to come here to go through. I was fooled. When I started counseling in Dec, my eyes were opened & I realized my ex had abused me, so I decided to divorce him. Since Feb, he has stopped talking to me. We were applying for a visa, so the gov't knows we are married, but I cannot get a divorce here b/c I have been told that "my state has no jurisdiction over our marriage/him b/c he is not a citizen of the U.S, has no visa yet, & we didn't get married here, & he isn't in America right now." I don't know what to do. I have been contacting his family, & get an email about once every two months, IF THAT. Their communication is short, & almost "punishing," as if I AM the one who did something wrong (no apology either). He doesn't talk to me, only his dad does (control/punishment). I found his lawyers email & emailed him, but now he isn't even contacting me (prob advised not to). All I know is that he is going through the divorce, but it is slow...I know NO DETAILS. I can't afford a divorce lawyer or any international lawyer but without payment options. Sadly, there are no international laws to protect/help women who have been abused by spouses from another country, which is ridiculous!! All I know is that God is with me & He is my ONLY HOPE. I am still going to counseling, which is helping me A LOT. Overall, it has effected me in every way, though! It is emotionally draining...& it seems hopeless. All I can do is look to God to help me, for there is currently no help from man.

This is important because I know I am not the only one who is going through this. There needs to be help for women who have gone through my situation or are going through it.