I, Salman Naseer, swear that the following statement is true and correct to the best of my knowledge:

1.I am writing this statement, because I have been wrongfully treated and emotionally abused by my U.S. citizen spouse Shahanna Leandra Schrom (Shay). Shay and I met in Washington, D.C. in February of 2015 through a mutual friend, while she was studying at BAU. I could never understand the term “love at first sight” until I met Shay. Shay is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life. I was attracted to her personality, she treated me nicely, and our views on many things in life were similar. We bonded immediately, and I knew I wanted her to be a part of my life forever. We used to go on dates after work and gave each other little surprise gifts. She met my cousin’s family, and I met her younger sister. Sometimes we all gathered together at dinner, and those times were very beautiful, because my cousin’s family is the only family I have here. Shay blended in very well and was always treated as family. We both have a passion for music, and we enjoyed going to music festival together. We also enjoyed hiking.

2.In the beginning of October 2015, I took Shay out for dinner in D.C. After that we went for a walk near Jefferson memorial. We were talking about her living situation. She was having problems with her roommate, as her roommate’s husband was a DJ and he played music all day and night. She could not sleep or study. I asked her to move in with me and she said yes. But I told her my family is very conservative and if they found out I was living with a girl without being married they would give me hard time about it for religious reasons. She said why we did not get married since we were in love. We both agreed we could have a small ceremony and later celebrate our wedding in Pakistan.

3.On October 28th, 2015 we moved in together. Our cohabitation was good at first, and it did not take us too long to get used to living together. We had a conversation about sharing home duties, and during that talk, I realized that Shay was not used to sharing housework with her parents and her younger sister Yadira. They had a cleaning lady who used to come every week and do all the housework. During the conversation, we decided that we would not hire anyone, but we would share all the chores between us two. We both agreed that this way we could save some money for our wedding and honeymoon. However, I was noticing that Shay was not doing her part in taking care of our place like we agreed. For example, she agreed to be responsible for keeping the kitchen clean, but it was never clean. Dirty stove, unwashed dishes, messy countertops were always there. I tried not to pay attention to it, because I was so much in love with Shay that it did not bother me to clean the kitchen for her. They say love is blind, and now I can relate, because I refused to see any cons in Shay’s behavior.

4.After almost a year of dating, on January 21st, 2016, Shay and I got married. At that time, both of us agreed on that we would get married in court with a simple ceremony and later we would celebrate our wedding in Pakistan where we were planning to invite both of our families and friends. Thus, during our court ceremony, there were only my cousin Ilyas Khan and Shay’s best friend Munchie. That evening, we gathered our friends for dinner at Passion Fish in downtown Bethesda. Shay’s family did not attend because they were not in MD. Her sister was studying in Massachusetts, and her mother and brother were in California.

5.Our wedding day was the happiest day of my life. I was so proud to be Shay’s husband and did everything in my power to make her happy. Shay was happy as well according to what she told me. Shay has been struggling with depression for a long time since her father passed away before Shay and I met, and I tried my hardest to lighten her up when she was in the dumps. I always supported her desire to earn the degree at BAU, because I knew how important it was for her. We always talked about it, and she was very passionate about pursuing her degree. We decided that she did not have to help me with the bills. I also gave Shay a monthly allowance for all her expenses. I thought we were happy; I know I was.

6.At the beginning of our marriage, everything seemed fine. We planned to have kids after her graduation. Overall, she was loving and respectful. Shay was always outgoing, and she liked to spend time with her friends. I never had issues with that. Soon after marriage I started to notice that Shay would spend more and more time out with friends than with me. We used to go out together, but after the marriage I couldn’t go with her every time, because I started to work longer hours to be able to support us both. I was the only provider for our family. My lifestyle had changed since marriage, because now I had responsibilities and obligations to my wife, which is of course normal when you decide to start a family. However, Shay’s party lifestyle did not change at all. She kept attending frequent friends’ parties and didn’t seem to care about her responsibilities at home. She did not cook or clean, I did it after my work. She started inviting me less and less to accompany her when she went out. At some point, before the spring break of 2016, she informed me that she would go to Miami, FL with her friends for her spring break, and I wasn’t invited.

7.Shay would go out and not come home until the early morning. Every time I asked her where she was, she would say that she was with friends. She came home drunk and under some substance. During the summer of 2016 I once picked her up from Holy Cross Hospital. A taxi driver dropped her off because she was too intoxicated and was not responding. I tried to talk to her sharing my concerns and worries, but she was always neglectful. This situation started shortly after marriage and kept repeating. Sometimes during our conversations, she would apologize, but soon after same behavior continued. Many times, I would call to check in on my wife, but she would not respond. I tried to explain her that we both have responsibilities for each other as husband and wife, and that she would need to stop going to parties so often. I talked to her sister Yadira hoping that she would influence on her as well, but Shay did not want to listen to neither of us. I felt very neglected after putting so much effort into our marriage. The situation kept repeating again and again. This behavior of hers eventually led us to fighting, and I felt that Shay started becoming emotionally and verbally abusive to me.

8.I was verbally and emotionally abused. The most painful form of that abuse was long sessions where my wife would verbally kick me in the guts for something she did not like that I had allegedly done or said. She called me “a nothing”, “a disappointment”, “stupid fucking taxi driver go find a real job do something productive and real in your life loser”. She would move backward or forward in time from there, fixating on other things she was unhappy with me about and making various attacks on my character calling me “a wimp”, “worthless”, “useless”. She would move backward or forward in time from there, fixating on other things she was unhappy with about with me and making various attacks on my character. The issues she had with me never seemed to go away.

9.In July of 2016, my cousin got in some trouble with his car and asked me for help. My wife insisted very angrily that I should not help because I was not their servant, and he should call his insurance, Uber, or AAA. I tried to explain her in our culture if someone asks for help when they are in trouble we help specially if it is family. My cousin asked me to pick him up from where he was. It was around 1 a.m., and I was about to leave from home to pick him up. Shay started yelling at me for going out so late. She got very angry, and she insisted that I would stay home. She said if I left, I should not come back at all. I complied with her demand for the sake of our marriage. She made me feel very bad for making me choose between helping my cousin and staying home with her. I called my cousin to tell him that I would not be able to come. I felt guilty for lying to him just to keep peace with Shay. She was angry with my cousin and his family because I told them what was going on between me and Shay and how she treated me. My cousin tried talking to her, but she told him not to interfere between our marriage. My cousin is the only family I have here in U.S. My relationship between me and cousin family worsen after this incident. They stopped talking to me for a while. She completely isolated me from my cousin and some friends she did not like. But even when I had done what my wife asked, she stayed angry at me. I was so mad at being attacked unfairly that one morning not long after, I inspected a rental property some distance from the marital home with the intention of separating from my wife. I was surprised that I wanted to do this because I strongly believed spouses should stick together and work through their differences.

10.During the second week of August of 2016, we went to a Music festival in Baltimore with some friends. We stayed there for weekend in a hotel. The first day was nice and we had fun. However, on the second day her mood changed. She got jealous because I spoke to a girl from our friend’s group. She started fighting about why I was talking to that girl. I explained her that we were all friends and I had known them from long time. She was very controlling throughout the day. She decided who I could talk to. Even when we got back home, she started showing me this bad attitude like I did something very wrong and did not communicate.

11.On the third week of August 2016, we were having a conversation about her behavior, and she started yelling at me saying that I was “nothing”, “worthless”, a “disappointment”, calling me names, and that if she wanted, she could “get me deported”. I felt speechless and hurt to hear these words from the person I love and married to. I felt used and threatened by my wife. On the same week she went to California to visit her mother and other family for couple of days. When I asked her if she wanted me to go with her so I could meet the rest of her family she simply said: No, it is not the right time. When she returned from her trip, she got busy in her life and schoolwork, and parties on weekends. The situation never changed despite of many conversations that I tried to have with Shay. Each conversation ended the same way: she kept repeating those abusive words to me.

12.In October of 2016, I planned on going to my friend’s house. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I asked her to go with me to my friend house for the Halloween party. She said she already had plans and she was going with her friends. She disappeared for a couple of days. She did not respond to my calls or texts. I contacted her friends, but no one knew where she was. When she came back, I asked her where she had been. She started yelling at me and told me she could go wherever she wanted and stay wherever she liked. She also said it was her home and if I had a problem with that I could go back to Pakistan or she would have me deported. From this point on I was even afraid to say anything to her. I was worried that she would call the Police to falsely accuse me of something. I thought maybe if I focused on work and provided her whatever she needed things would get better.

13.I was not expecting to be in this kind of situation. She used to be very nice before marriage. She was unemployed during our marriage and she would only talk to me whenever she needed money or if she wanted me to get something from the grocery store. She started spending more time outside with her friends and we got distant form each other. I was busy working because I had to pay rent, our bills, and whatever she needed for school and her expenses. I also had to take care of my parents back home because they are retired.

14.We did not spend Christmas and New Year together as I was working. She said she was going to spend it with her family in California, but I still bought a gift for her. She did not like it and she asked me to buy her an apple watch. I told her I would buy it for her when I have money and I also setup a Christmas tree for her at home. I started suspecting that she was hiding something but, in my mind, I always thought she was just hanging out with her friends and I was not allowed to question her whatever she did.

15.We did not even spend Valentine’s day together in 2017. In March of 2017, my father got sick, and I wanted to go to Pakistan to see him Pakistan. I asked her about the status of our spouse petition with USCIS. She only told me that it was in process. I went to a USCIS office to check the status of my case. They said: we informed your case officer you were here he will send you the letter. There is nothing you can do about it. I got another appointment with USCIS to obtain a travel document to fly to Pakistan. I was not able to do anything, and my father passed away in June 2017. I was sad and depressed about it. I did not see my father for the last 10 years. He waited for me until his last breath. The day my father died; Shay came home drunk after partying all night. I was really depressed, and she pretended to care. At least she stopped giving me a hard time and verbally abusing me for some time. My cousin, his kids and my friends helped me in this difficult time.

16.I spent month of Ramadan working and praying and asking God to give me strength to go through all this. During same time in June Shay said she was going out with her friends to South Carolina for 3 weeks, her friend’s family house is there. That’s how she isolated me when I needed her the most, I felt abandoned. When Shay came back from her vacation, I tried talking to her. I asked her what she wanted and why she married me if she did not care about me and instead of solving our differences and making a future together, she was never home. She completely ignored me and said she did not want to talk about it because she was tired, and she needed to rest. She then left to the bedroom. I offered her to go to a professional couple counseling, but she did not want to go either. Time passed by, I was grieving and trying to get back to normal and to focus on work hoping things would change.

17.In October 2017, one of my best friends committed suicide. My depression worsened. Shay would not understand what I was going through. She still gave me a hard time at home insulting me. She treated me like I was her slave, and I was bound to her. If I complained about something she would always bring up my immigration status and threaten to deport me. Things got worse, and we stopped talking to each other but still lived under the same roof. As usual, she disappeared from Thursday to Sunday. I started spending time with my friends and cousin. I wanted to end this vicious circle, but I did not know how because I loved her.

18.She went to California in December of 2017 to spend Christmas and New Years with her mother. During 2018 we barely spoke to each other. It was like she was living a double life. She left for a week during 2018 for her Spring Break with her friends. I still do not know where, because I was not allowed to ask her where she was going and when she would be coming back. During the summer of 2018, she again went to South Carolina with her friends where she stayed for 2-3 weeks. I started focusing on myself, taking online bootcamp at General Assembly for carrier change in October 2018.

19.In February of 2019, Shay told me that she needed a break, and that she would stay with her friend Munchi for a while. Unfortunately, Shay never returned my calls or texts. I kept trying to reach her. She still had her house keys, and I hoped that she would come home and talk to me. She avoided meeting me, but I saw on different days that her mail and some of her clothes were taken.

20.When I spoke to Munchi (Shahannas’s friend) on the first week of April 2019, whom Shay stated she was staying with, I discovered that Shay had a boyfriend, Myles, and she had already moved in with him. To say I was shocked, and hurt is the least. Soon after while talking to Munchi, I asked her friend and our former roommate Preston if he knew anything about Shay having a boyfriend. He said that he knew about it and he did not tell me because he did not want to hurt me and was hoping that Shay will tell me herself. I was devastated and completely caught off guard. I never thought she would betray our love. I wanted her to explain me things, so I tried calling her and left her voicemails. She did not answer my phone and never called me back.

21.I was so hurt and depressed, I went to my cousin house and told him and his daughters (my nieces) what happened. My nieces Asma & Minahil were friends with Shay, so Asma said she could go talk to Shay to find out what was going on and why she did that to me. I found out Shay boyfriend’s address from Shay’s friend and gave it to my niece Asma. She went to Shay’s boyfriend’s house on April 07th 2019. Shay’s boyfriend’s mother came out to the door. Asma asked if she could talk to Shay, but his mother stated that Shay was not there. Asma asked her “But Shay lives here, right?” The lady replied the same: “Shay is not here”. My cousin’s daughter left, and she told me that is what happened.

22.On the same day, Shay boyfriend messaged me on Instagram: “If you or Asma show up at the house again the Police will be called. Stay away from my parents house, me, and Shay wherever she is staying” “I’m sure the DHS would love this case”. I still needed to talk to Shay. I loved her and I did not want to lose her. So next day on April 8th, 2019, I went to her work to the Flower Hill Elementary School where she works as an assisting teacher. I asked the staff if Shay was in, and one nice lady said yes. They called her and informed her that I was expecting her in the waiting area, but she never came out to talk to me. Later that day, she texted me not to contact her work or her at her boyfriend’s house.

23.On April 9, 2019 I called her mother and sister, but they did not answer or reached back to me. To this day, I have not spoken to Shay. On April 20, 2019 Shay’s boyfriend (Myles) called me on my cellphone from an unknown number and threatened me to say: “I will call immigration and have you deported. My mom used to work for the CIA and she knows very powerful people. They can have you disappeared if you do not divorce Shay and give her half of what you own.” On June 3rd, when I was out with my cousin and his family to celebrate Eid, our religious holiday, Shay came home, picked up the rest of her things and left her house keys. She knew that it was our Eid, and I would be out meeting family and friends.

24.I have always had best intentions by marrying Shay, and I planned to spend the rest of my live with her. I put so much my effort into our marriage trying to build a happy family. I tried to be the best husband to Shay showing her my love and care. I always worked hard to support us both, so she could follow her dream in pursuing her degree and building a happy family. However, all I got in return was an abusive relationship where I felt intimidated and threatened if I did not comply with my wife’s wishes.

Signed under penalty of perjury,

Naseer Salman Date

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