Question about US visas for my wife (Sydney)

Hi folks. I'm new here. /wave

I have a question regarding US visas. The situation is this:

My wife is an Australian citizen, and I am a US citizen. We have been legally married and living in Australia for 11 years. Every year I go back to America to visit family; sometimes she comes with me (on the normal tourist visa / visa waiver program). Well,

My father is elderly, has Alzheimer's, and is declining rapidly. We would like to move to America and live there for 2 years, in order to help my mom out and say goodbye to my dad. After that, we would return to Australia; we have no intention to reside in the US permanently. Australia is our home; we have 3 kids and all our property here. So... we'd be in the US for 2 years, no more.

I've been on the phone with the US Consulate in Sydney, and they are about as vague and unhelpful as most consulates around the world are. I was told contradictory information. It *seems*, according to the cso I talked to, that my wife's choices are a) apply for a spousal visa, which basically means apply for permanent residency -- a very long process, I know, and a route we don't want to take, given that she has no intention whatsoever to immigrate; b) somehow secure her a job in the US and have a company invite her over to work so that she can apply for a work visa, but my income will be enough to support us both, so while her working might be nice, it wouldn't be necessary and I have serious doubts about whether she could find a job and get a work visa anyway (but I could be wrong); or c) apply for something called a B1/B2 visa, and travel to the US under the B2 category (for pleasure / visiting family Protected content , the person on the phone told me that even if she is granted the B1/B2 visa, the actual decision on the length of time she is allowed to stay in the US would be determined by the *customs & border protection officer* (the guard who stamps your passport at the airport when you enter the US), and that there are no guarantees.

So it sounds like, what that would mean is, we might go through the long process and expense of getting the B1/B2 visa, pay to put all our stuff in storage, etc etc, then fly across the Pacific only to find that she's only allowed to stay a month or a few months instead of the 2 years we are planning. Also, the person on the phone could not answer my questions about visits back to Australia (whether my wife would be let back into the US if she were to fly back here for, say, Christmas or something to visit the kids).

My question: Do any of you have experience with this sort of situation? Any of you have an Australian spouse and experience with getting her over to the US for a long-term (like, a year or two) visit?

Thank you so much in advance for your advice!

Sincerely,

Gaines