My question involves a marriage that was entered into in New York State.
I am a US citizen who married a German citizen in July 1994. By December 1994, the marriage had irretrievable failed and my wife had moved back to Germany where she has remained ever since. There were no children and no community property. At the time, I never realized how complex divorcing a foreign national was going to be.
She is agreeable to a divorce and, to that end, recently provided me with her current home address. Legal grounds for divorce have been one of two long-standing issues for me.
1) The only legal grounds applicable to my divorce action came with a 5-year SOL that had since expired. Fortunately, New York State recently enacted a no-fault (uncontested) divorce law. I obtained a packet with all of the forms and instructions from my local Supreme Court clerk's office. I'm able to complete the petition and file for a court date provided that I can successfully negotiate what has always been my other major obstacle:
2) Serving divorce papers on her in a manner that satisfies both German and NYS legal requirements. She is willing to accept the papers and sign the Affidavit of Defendant (provided the process server is also a notary). May I presume the individual serving the papers must still be a US citizen of a certain age, and not a party to the action? I'm really hoping that, for a fee, someone at the embassy would be willing to perform this service. Am I dreaming or is this a service they're known to provide?
Today I contacted the US Consulate in Berlin requesting assistance with my dilemma. I am waiting for their response. I'm always concerned with what I may have missed or be entirely unaware of. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

