Through marriage, a spouse is able to obtain several immigration benefits. Divorce breaks the legal relationship between spouses and usually results in one spouse losing his or her status or application for permanent residence. This can often be an issue where an alien has obtained a conditional permanent resident card but gets divorced before he or she becomes a permanent resident based a marriage to a US citizen. This is also a serious issue where there is abuse in the marital relationship though there may be relief through VAWA regulations. Divorce will also have impact on Children under 21 who obtained immigration benefit as derivatives.
In situations when one spouse has a work visa such as an H1B visa and their spouse holds a derivative visa such an H4 visa, a divorce would make the H4 visa holder ineligible for that status. Therefore if your status is dependent on your spouse then it is in your best interest to obtain an immigration status that is not reliant on your marriage. You must act quickly or you may find yourself out of status and unable to change your status in the United States.