>
> But when they get married he'll automatically
>get U.S. citizenship, right?

No. Marrying a citizen doesn't automagically confer upon you citizenship. You become eligible for a green card, I believe, which is the next best thing (what we call a "green card" is really a U.S. Permanent Resident visa which means you get to live and work here indefinitely.)

I don't know exactly how we do it here, but in NZ the "Permanent Resident" status actually has two distinct levels. The first is just "Permanent Resident", which means you get to live and work in NZ indefinitely, BUT YOU CAN'T LEAVE THE COUNTRY. If you leave, you return as a visiting foreign national again and have to start the entire process all over again. The second level (Which I believe you have to have lived in NZ for 18 months to be eligible for) is "Permanent Resident with Right of Return" which is basically what you'd *think* Permanent Resident status would be--you can leave the country and return as a returning resident rather than a visiting foreign national.

Immigration laws are weird.

-- Dave