I am not sure if this is the correct subreddit to share this story. Maybe a therapist would be a better outlet. This is why I'll keep this description as short as possible and will edit in details in case the topic is relevant.

Timeline below

1.5 years ago: I met this attractive and fun girl that I quickly became attached to. I knew she had a few screws lose early on by looking at how frequently her mood changed. I overlook all the signs and still enjoyed her company. I had been single for a while and she was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise boring academic journey.

1 year ago: My student immigration status was about to expire so we got married and filed for the GC. We were already in a serious relationship at that time so we hoped that adding the marriage into the equation wouldn't be such a big deal. A couple of weeks after, she started demanding changes in me (buying her an expensive ring that she ended up losing, developing a relationship with her disapproving parents, etc.) and I did what I was asked to do.

9 months ago: We were moving for my new job and it created a lot of stress in her. For days she was crying, yelling, cussing, putting in question the relationship and everything else. She got physically violent against me as well. I tried to calm her down for days to no avail. I packed up and left. She later called me saying that she took pills. I called an ambulance for her. She got diagnosed with bipolar disorder after that suicide attempt.

6 months ago: I was in a good place. I was working hard at a good-paying job, making new friends (as opposed to being isolated with her). As I was becoming happier, she was becoming less so. She started feeling neglected and became extremely disapproving of everything I would do. It doesn't matter if I solely pay a higher rent to accommodate her pets, if I work all day to see her being lazy at home not studying for her school. She decided to paint herself as the victim of a man who doesn't care about her and who is verbally abusive. She would "cranger" (cry while being angry) for days on end, making my life a living hell. Nothing would calm her. Take her out every fucking day, check. Take her to intensive therapy sessions, check. Buying her presents, giving her massages, nothing would make her stop being ANGRY.

3 months ago: The company I worked for had to lay off employees due to poor annual returns. I fell into a bit of a dark place for a couple of weeks. I didn't have the strength to keep up with maintaining her emotional stability. At my lowest point, she left me one night and had sex with her ex-boyfriend. I found out later that she was flirting with him for a month. She initially came back home after she did it and tried to convince me that nothing happened but I found out when I saw the hickey on her neck.

I tried to leave but she took my keys, paperwork and phone. She threatened to make up stories about me using her for immigration and abusing her as well. She said I deserved being cheated on because I wasn't giving her enough attention or sexual satisfaction (she convinced herself of me being deserving of being cheated on to this day). She keeps saying that if I leave she'll go back to him without hesitation and that she has a better connection with him.

PRESENT DAY: I am stuck with an abusing (verbally, physically) wife, a destroyed self-esteem (I have renounced any ounce of self-respect I had and I am being treated like a sub-human slave), no job therefore no legal presence in the US if I leave her. I know I should leave. It's just extremely hard for me to renounce my career which is tied to this country and a person who created in me such a strong emotional response that even the thought of losing her can feel more painful than the passive torture I'm living in.

I am thinking of getting my papers in a couple of months (will be valid for 2 years) and then disappearing forever. Can she hurt me by lying or misrepresenting facts? Will she try to stop me by blackmail or violence? Did any of you experience a similar situation?