I became a resident by following one of the simpler paths on this chart. Coming to the country on vacation with my American wife, deciding to stay and filing t

I became a resident by following one of the simpler paths on this chart. Coming to the country on vacation with my American wife, deciding to stay and filing the I-485 (plus about $2000 in fees) and waiting for green card. The whole process took about 5 months and included a visit to an office where they take your fingerprints and ID, a separate visit to a designated doctors to have a full medical and then a trip to a large city for an interview with the immigration officer. For the interview my wife any I were the only ones in the waiting room without a lawyer or large binder full of supporting documents to prove our marriage. We just had a 5 minute chat with the officer which went quite naturally and he approved us right there. 7 days later a green card arrived in the post. I tell my story to give a real example of immigrating here. I'm from one of the US 'allies' countries, no bad history, good job etc. When I look back now it didn't seem so bad but at the time there was a lot of stress and expense and that's just for one of the 'easier' paths.