It took us over 5 years for Ben's temp green card to become permanant. Even then, had had to bring TONS of proof - shared bills, bank accts, photos - that we were really married and were interviewed for a loooooooong time. I think once we were finally approved, we grabbed our suitcase fulll of proof (yes, a small suitcase) and ran like hell from that building. It was a long and difficult process. But hey, all is well that ends well and here we are 3 kids, legal and later! ;)