San Bernardino Shooting -- Parents Divorced this Year ... Dad Spent Time in Pakistan (UPDATE)

12:45 PM PT -- We've learned the father was in Pakistan for several years -- neighbors tell us possibly as long as 5 or 6 -- before he moved back to the U.S.

San Bernardino police say they've learned Syed, the shooter, also went to Pakistan sometime before 2014. They also say his wife Tashfeen Malik, the other shooter, originally entered the U.S. on a visa from Pakistan.

The parents of Syed Farook divorced in February, after years of domestic strife ... TMZ has learned.

Rafia Farook filed for legal separation as far back as 2008, but apparently the elder Syed -- father of the shooter -- came back to the home. She eventually filed for divorce and it was granted in February.

As we reported, Rafia -- the shooter's mom -- filed for 3 separate restraining orders against her husband, claiming he was "mentally sick" and a physically abusive drunk. According to neighbors, after Rafia got a restraining order in 2008, the elder Syed moved to Pakistan for an unknown period of time and then returned to the U.S. and moved back into the family home.