Yep, it's absolute nonsense. I am a US citizen and this is one of the many reasons I am planning on moving overseas and renouncing my US citizenship. It just isn't worth the hassle of spending thousands of dollars and waiting over a year of her being in a limbo state to live in an unsafe and deeply flawed society when we can take our skills to other parts of the world. We need to go back to the days of Ellis island. Staple a green card to the back of the every diploma issued by a regionally accredited university in the US. Allow anybody with a special talent the US legitimately lacks a easy path to obtaining a work permit for themselves and their families, and partners of US citizens should be able to get a Green Card and work permit within 30 days of marriage.

Ya it's taken 2 years for the government's published estimate of 6-10 months. People can't plan lives around this, or only the increasingly wealthy can. Wish you the best of luck. There's nothing in the US worth having you can't get in other countries (and probably much easier).