Could a year apart turn into something longer?

I would really like to start this blog with a series of four letter words (and some longer words too) that describe exactly how I feel about our immigration system down here in the good old USA.  But I won't.

Here is the recap (in case you accidentally stumbled on to this blog and have no idea what in the world is going on in our lives)

I'm an American with dual Canadian citizenship.  Born in Boston.  Lived all over the world.  Met my wife in Canada where we were both going to school.

My wife is Canadian with dual British citizenship.  Born in Canada.  Lived all over the world.

We had three children while we were in school.  They all have Canadian citizenship.  Because of my gypsy lifestyle I did not have enough consecutive years of living in the United States to apply for them to become US citizens when they were born.

In 1999 I moved my entire family to Las Vegas where we lived until 2007.  During this time my wife and children all received their green cards and their Landed Permanent Residence status.  My wife owned her own Real Estate appraisal business.  We bought two houses.

In 2007 I returned to Canada to pursue post graduate work under a specific professor.  My family went with me (naturally).

In 2010 I was invited to New York to give a presentation on my research.  My wife came with me.  It was a mini vacation.  We got detained at the airport and my wife was told that because she had been out of the US for longer than 1 year, she had lost her green card and the United States now considered her to have "abandoned her status".  Same with the kids.  We were floored.  We had no idea.  Nobody told us that Green Cards were like milk and had an expiry date.

In 2013 I accepted a job back in Las Vegas.  We were told we would have to reapply for Green Cards for my wife and kids again and that until the Green Cards were approved, I could live and work in Vegas but Jo and the kids would have to remain in Canada.  They told us it could take up to nine months.

Yesterday I was on the phone with Immigration.  They told me that they are so backlogged that it will be nine months before they even begin to look at our case.  THEY HAVEN'T EVEN OPENED OUR FILE YET!!  It has been six months and this whole time we are thinking that in a couple of months we will get the immigration decision and the green cards and be back together.

I suppose I could get really angry at this point.  I guess I am.  But more than that I am disappointed.
I'm really disappointed in an immigration system that is so broken that an American citizen, married 22 years with grown children, can't get his family across the border.  I'm disappointed in an Immigration system that is supposed to work for its citizens, but is so hopelessly broken and backlogged, that citizens are forced to live separated from their families for what could very easily now become much longer than one year.

The past six months have been tough, but they were a little easier thinking that it was almost over, that the end was in sight. We've endured six months of separation, we can handle three more.  Now, it appears we have absolutely no time frame and no idea how long this process will take.

Could we be apart for one year?  Eighteen months?  Two years?
How does that affect family dynamics?  How does that affect my ability to be a good husband and father?  How much longer can I continue to effectively pastor a church while my family, my biggest ministry, is effectively neglected in another country?

Ultimately we believe God is still in control and that one truth will give us some measure of peace as we figure out how to navigate this newest piece of news.  At this point that is all we have.  But it will be enough.