My practice is located in the very diverse city of Jersey City. Many of my clients are immigrants or still have close ties to friends and family from India, Pakistan, and China. Some individuals come into the office and wonder if they can file for a divorce in New Jersey while the other party lives in India, Pakistan, etc. The short answer is yes. By following the rules of the court and proper service (if he can locate your spouse), a divorce will be granted here. If you cannot locate your spouse, we can conduct a diligent search for your spouse and prove to the court that we cannot locate him or her despite our best efforts. This type of case is called a divorce by publication. An attorney must contact the division of motor vehicles, the department of defense, postmaster general, department of elections and try to serve the spouse at the last known address in the United States. 
    However, if you do know where your spouse is, and he or she agrees we can forward the documents to your spouse and take it from there. If the spouse does not agree and does not accept service we usually hire an attorney in that country to help us with service that satisfies the New Jersey Rules of Court. We work closely with attorneys in different countries that assist us in complying with the rules for personal service. 
We have done many cases where the spouse and sometimes children live abroad. While you cannot seek or fight custody if the child lives in another country, other issues can be adjudicated here.  Whether you are seeking to have the divorce valid in India with the help of Indian counsel or are just concerned about the validity of an American divorce, we can help you.