US doesn’t give out a permanent residency based on how long you lived in the country. There’s only a few common paths to immigration: employment sponsored (2-20 years), marriage based (1-3 years), other family based (2-20 years), investor based (1-3 years). Student or tourist years don’t matter.
FWIW, it does not seem like an uncommon reaction. My wife had a similar questions bordering on disbelief, when I was giving her a glimpse of current US immigration system based on my experience alone.
The way the current immigration system works is not taught at all in schools. Maybe if you’re lucky you get taught about the Ellis Island days where all you had to do was prove you had enough money not to starve and not have any signs of infectious disease like tuberculosis.
It's pretty wild. I'm a US citizen, and getting my Japanese wife a green card took years and thousands of dollars. I wish people understood how ridiculous the system is before they went out and voted about it.
Stuff like how the government would just randomly send me a letter and say "Hey, asshole, give us another $800." In my case it's like "OK" but for most Americans living paycheck-to-paycheck that would be a catastrophic event
