I'm from the UK and married a US citizen in 2005. It took exactly 1 year from start to finish to get my green card. We were living in the UK during the whole application process.
I am now in the US and hoping to get on with a regional soon. I know that the money will be very poor for at least the first 3-4 years of my career, but am prepared to give it a go and am under no illusions about how tough it's going to be financially.
There is a massive hiring boom here at the moment, regionals like AE are hoping to get 700 pilots in 2007 alone and just can't fill the classes with suitable applicants every month. The majors are also starting to re-hire, which is driving the boom below them with upward movement and career progression
Things are definitely starting to drive in the right direction, unfortunately though, pay and conditions are not as they used to be, but if there turns out to be a shortage of qualified pilots, things may change for the better, sooner.